Bart Van Thienen (Appellant) v Entain Operations Limited (Respondent) (Gibraltar)

Permission to Appeal application lodged

Case summary
Permission to Appeal
Previous proceedings

Case summary

Case ID

JCPC/2025/0106

Jurisdiction

Gibraltar

Parties

Appellant(s)

Bart Van Thienen

Respondent(s)

Entain Operations Ltd

Issue

Substantive questions (1) Was the Gibraltar Employment Tribunal right to find on the facts that Mr Van Thienen had not been unfairly dismissed, bullied, or discriminated against? (2) Did the Supreme Court of Gibraltar and Court of Appeal for Gibraltar err or act improperly in not overturning the Employment Tribunal’s decision? Procedural questions (3) Mr Van Thienan was entitled to appeal by right to the Privy Council. However, he did not file an appeal motion within the prescribed twenty-one-day period. Did the Court of Appeal for Gibraltar have discretion to waive this delay and grant Mr Van Thienan leave to appeal to the Privy Council? (4) If the Court of Appeal for Gibraltar did have such discretion, should it have exercised it?

Facts

Mr Bart Van Thienen (the Appellant) worked for Entain Operations (the Respondent) from May 2017 to May 2018. The Appellant alleges that during this time he was bullied by other employees. In April 2018, the Appellant was granted a period of paid leave while the Respondent investigated these allegations. The investigation found he had not been bullied, and he was asked to return to work. He refused to do so on the basis that he needed time to prepare his appeal. He was therefore dismissed for failing to attend work. The Appellant filed a claim for unfair dismissal, bullying, and discrimination. In 2021 the Gibraltar Employment Tribunal found against the Appellant and held on the facts that he had not been unfairly dismissed, bullied, or discriminated against. The Appellant appealed this decision to the Supreme Court of Gibraltar and the Court of Appeal for Gibraltar. His appeals were dismissed by both courts.