An employment judge has been issued with formal advice for misconduct after he was found to have delayed providing written reasons for six months. Employment judge Gary Denis Tobin ‘did not exercise sufficient diligence and care in the discharge of his duties’, an investigation found.
Following a hearing in the employment tribunal, a party to a case complained that Tobin had ‘still not’ provided written reasons ‘despite them having requested these around five months prior’.
A spokesperson for the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office said that when the complainant received the written reasons, more than six months had passed since the request. Tobin ‘accepted’ he had delayed in providing the written reasons. He said he had given a full oral judgment during the hearing and informed the parties that, due to work pressures, written reasons were likely to take some time if requested. He therefore ‘read his judgment slowly to allow the parties to take notes’.
The JCIO said Tobin ‘cited his extremely busy workload and explained that he had to prioritise other outstanding work at this time, such as reserved judgments’. Tobin apologised to the complainant for the delay, which did not cause any detriment, and apologised in his representations.
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An investigation found Tobin’s six-month delay in providing written reasons amounted to misconduct. The employment judge had ‘failed to keep the parties updated as to the delay and when the written reasons for his decision could be expected’. Tobin did not approach his regional employment judge ‘soon enough’ to ask for additional time to produce the reasons and ‘therefore did not exercise sufficient diligence and care in the discharge of his duties’, the investigation found.
The senior president of tribunals, on behalf of the lady chief justice, and with the lord chancellor’s agreement, issued Tobin with formal advice for misconduct as a ‘reasonable and proportionate sanction in this case’.
This year, the JCIO has published six statements in relation to judicial misconduct over judgment, order and transcript delays varying in time from five months to 32.
