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Employment Bill [HL]

I am sorry to interrupt my noble friend again, but he raises an important point. As I understand it, in the normal course, a single-chairman hearing will be in the presence of the claimant and the respondent. If the consent that was thought to be deemed is not existent, all the claimant has to do is to say to the chairman, ““I don't agree with you hearing this on your own; I want to have the tripartite system””. The deemed consent would only bring the claimant to the tribunal, but if he were then to make it clear that he was not happy—as no doubt he would if he were unhappy and he was not giving his consent—no hearing would take place until there were lay members and the chairman.