The Employment Appeal Tribunal has ruled against a former stripper in her request for anonymity in Tribunal proceedings. In the case of A v Burke and Hare the Claimant, a former stripper, brought a claim for £1,846 in holiday pay. She has since obtained new employment and argued that unless she was given anonymity she would have to drop the case as it would unduly prejudice her future career prospects.
All Employment Tribunal Judgments are published online and can be accessed at any time as a part of a government drive to open justice. Unfortunately for some employees this can create problems as in this case where the stigma of having worked as a stripper risked her new career.
On appeal however the EAT confirmed that whatever stigmatisation she might have suffered was not sufficient to outweigh the principle of open justice. The Judge did agree to anonymisation of this particular judgment on the basis that she will now drop the claim but should she proceed any future judgments would include her full name.
Although in practice very few employers do in fact check as to whether employees or applicants have previously brought Tribunal claims, the publicity around them is a significant factor for employees to bear in mind when bringing a claim.
If you are involved in Tribunal proceedings or are considering bringing a claim please contact our expert team of employment lawyers on 0345 646 0406 or fill in our online enquiry form and a member of our Team will be in touch.