Justice for Joe

Joe who has prostate cancer, was fired by his employers whilst off work with Covid in 2021. A qualified I.T. Technician Joe lost all his savings on lawyer fees, due to TWO postponed employment tribunal dates. Please help get justice for Joe.

A disabled man with prostate cancer has had his employment tribunal for unfair dismissal postponed the day before it was due to take place because a judge was not available – 13 months after the same thing happened.

Joe Mezgebe, an IT technician, who first presented his claim against Christ’s College, Finchley Academy in June 2021, has lost £15,300 in fees to his barrister as a result of the cancellations, and fears he may not live to see justice done.

The former member of the armed forces, who uses crutches as a result of a 2015 car accident, was sacked from his job in 2021 and originally given a trial date of 14 September last year at Watford employment tribunal, in Hertfordshire, the case was postponed on the eve of the hearing.

It was relisted for 26 September this year. But when Mezgebe and his barrister turned up at the tribunal a court official told them that his solicitors had been notified of a second postponement the previous day.

However, the notification sent at 4.25 pm the day before the supposed hearing date, had been emailed to someone who no longer worked at the law firm.

“The second time was like a tipping point for me,” said Mezgebe, “I was suicidal. I’m 100% sure that, they’ll do it again. It could happen again and again. I just lost all hope – all the hard work, revision, reading back through the notes, and everything else for what? Nothing. Will I live long enough to fight my case?”

Court papers show the tribunal has known since 2022 that Mezgebe has cancer.

After the second cancellation, he was told the hearing would be rescheduled for “as soon as possible” – but he was given a date of September 2026. In November, after Mezgebe wrote to the prime minister, he received a new date of October 2025 with, bizarrely, “judiciary unavailable” in 2026 given for the date being brought forward.

He said: “Given my current medical conditions I may not be alive or fit enough to attend this hearing. The public needs to know, especially those self-funding their legal fees, that they could lose all their money [because of a postponement]. As a person on a low income, I can no longer afford to have legal representation in the relisted hearing so it’s denying me having a fair hearing.”

A letter from HM Courts and Tribunals service, responding to the letter Mezgebe sent to the prime minister, said: “It may be helpful if I explain that a legal representative isn’t a requirement to bring a case to the tribunal, and your claim can continue if you don’t have a solicitor.”

But Mezgebe said he has been disadvantaged as his former employer can still instruct a barrister.

The latest statistics show that the backlog in the employment tribunals increased, with the number of open cases from April to June being 18% higher than in the same period last year. Minutes of the employment tribunal user group’s April meeting revealed concerns about a shortage of judges in the southeast and London, with the cost of living thought to be the likeliest explanation.

The Ministry of Justice said: “The government inherited a crisis in our justice system and a tribunals backlog at soaring levels. While a challenging financial inheritance binds us, this government is fully committed to tackling backlogs across the justice system. We are now beginning this work and have continued the investment this year in the recruitment of approximately 1,000 judges and tribunal members.”