CA-2025-000983 - [2025] EWCA Civ 1457

This is an appeal by Mr Rohit Sharma against an order made by His Honour Judge Beard in the Employment Appeal Tribunal refusing an application for adjustments to be made to the EAT’s usual procedure to take account of the appellant’s disabilities.

The appellant represented himself at the hearing of the appeal to this court. He did so clearly, courteously and concisely, and in impeccable English.

The respondent, the University of Nottingham, adopted a neutral position on the issue whether such adjustments should be made, as it had done before the EAT, and made no submissions on this issue, regarding it as a matter for the court.

I have concluded that the application to the EAT was based on the appellant’s misunderstanding of the nature of the proceedings before the EAT, so that many of the requests were inappropriate or inapplicable, while others were premature. Judge Beard was therefore right to decline to make the order requested. Rather than the EAT or this court attempting to make provision many months in advance for the course which the appeal hearing before the EAT should take, this should be left to the good sense of the EAT, applying the common law duty of fairness in the light of the circumstances as they exist when the hearing takes place.