Evans v Prospect & Ors

Evans v Prospect & Ors

There was no evidence of actual, automatic, or apparent bias on the part of the Certification Officer; the precautionary suspension was within the NEC's express or implied powers and not a breach of union rules; the CO erred in construing the election code of conduct as only applying when there were multiple candidates, and this complaint should be remitted for reconsideration; the CO erred in refusing to accept a further complaint without following statutory procedure, but the application was likely vexatious and should be struck out unless cause is shown.

Parties
Appellant: Evans; First Respondent: Prospect; Second Respondent: Certification Officer; Third Respondent: ACAS; Fourth Respondent: Secretary of State for Business and Trade
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
10 August 2025
Procedural Posture
Employment Appeal Tribunal Appeal / Judgment on Appeal From Certification Officer's Strike Out and Non Acceptance Decisions
Outcome
Appeal dismissed in part, allowed in part
Legal Topics
Bias and Apparent Bias, Strike Out Applications, Trade Union Disciplinary Procedures, Interpretation of Union Rules, Article 6 ECHR, Custom and Practice in Unincorporated Associations, Res Judicata and Abuse of Process
Employment Law Administrative Law Trade Union Law Human Rights Bias and Apparent Bias Strike Out Applications Trade Union Disciplinary Procedures Interpretation of Union Rules +3 more

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Evans

Appellant

Prospect

First Respondent

Certification Officer

Second Respondent

ACAS

Third Respondent

Secretary of State for Business and Trade

Fourth Respondent

Procedural Posture

Employment Appeal Tribunal Appeal / Judgment on Appeal From Certification Officer's Strike Out and Non Acceptance Decisions

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Certification Officer's decisions were vitiated by bias (actual, automatic, or apparent)
  2. 2 Whether the Certification Officer erred in law in striking out the applicant's complaints regarding suspension and election code of conduct
  3. 3 Whether the Certification Officer erred in refusing to accept a further complaint regarding suspension

Ratio Decidendi

There was no evidence of actual, automatic, or apparent bias on the part of the Certification Officer; the precautionary suspension was within the NEC's express or implied powers and not a breach of union rules; the CO erred in construing the election code of conduct as only applying when there were multiple candidates, and this complaint should be remitted for reconsideration; the CO erred in refusing to accept a further complaint without following statutory procedure, but the application was likely vexatious and should be struck out unless cause is shown.

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed in part, allowed in part

Orders

  • Appeal on grounds 1, 2, 5 and 6 (suspension complaints) dismissed.
  • Appeal on ground 10 (election code of conduct) allowed and remitted to the Certification Officer for fresh consideration.