Tribunal members should never recuse themselves for the sake of expedience (News, 5 August 2011)

Article summary

If, after a hearing has commenced before a full employment tribunal panel, a party requests that one or more members of the tribunal recuse themselves, (1) the application for recusal should be heard by the full panel, not by the Employment Judge alone, (2) the other party or parties should be given an opportunity to make representations, and (3) the application should be refused where the proper conditions for recusal are not made out, and should never be granted simply as a matter of expedience, eg to assuage the unfounded concerns of a claimant suffering from a severe depressive order, according to the EAT in WestLB London Branch v Pan.