A new ruling from the Court of Appeal could see a cut in the number of appeals allowed from employment tribunals.
The case McLoughlin v Jones is a professional negligence case that has been around, in one form or another, since 1998. But part of the judgment could have a knock-on effect for tribunal hearings.
Previously, there have been instances where appeals have been granted because the judge at the original hearing has not given sufficient reasons – so might have erred in law – or where one of the reasons given by the judge turns out to be wrong.
In the leading judgment in McLoughlin v Jones (2006) Lady Justice Arden said that if one of several reasons was wrong, then the “cumulative effect” of all the reasons should be considered.
If the reasons that were wrong do not “shake the foundations on which the judgment was based” then appeal courts will not interfere with the original result.
