Case 1302620/2022 · Employment Tribunal
Mr Richard Miles Hamilton v Eden Horticulture Ltd — 2023
- Case reference
- 1302620/2022
- Decision date
- 8 June 2023
- Jurisdiction
- England & Wales
- Judge
- Employment Judge Hena Appearances
Parties
2 namedClaimant
Mr Richard Miles Hamilton
Respondent
Key findings
Tribunal's reasoningThis was a public preliminary hearing before Employment Judge Hena on 1 June 2023. The tribunal found that Mr Richard Miles Hamilton had a mental impairment of anxiety at the time of the events in issue. It held that the impairment had a substantial adverse effect on his day-to-day activities, including that he needed significant help from his then partner to present himself at work, and that the effects were likely to last at least 12 months from September 2021 when he first informed the respondent of his condition.
The tribunal distinguished the claimant's circumstances from J v DLA Piper UK LLP [2010] ICR 1052 and Mr Igweike v TSB Bank [2019]. It therefore made a preliminary finding that the claimant was disabled for the purposes of section 6 of the Equality Act 2010, but it did not determine the merits of the unfair dismissal or disability discrimination claims at this hearing.
On the claimant's strike out applications concerning the respondent's late filing, the tribunal accepted that the respondent had good reason because its instructed firm went into liquidation in December 2022. It found that this did not meet the high threshold for strike out, and recorded that the respondent had served the skeleton argument within seven days of the hearing. The matter was listed for a case management preliminary hearing on 19 July 2023 to identify the alleged acts of direct disability discrimination, the relevant provision, criterion or practice for reasonable adjustments, possible steps the respondent could have taken, and whether a breach of contract claim had been pleaded in the ET1.
Claims and outcomes
2 findings recorded| Claim type | Issue or finding | Outcome | Protected characteristic | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disability discrimination | Preliminary finding only: the tribunal found that the claimant had a mental impairment of anxiety which met the section 6 Equality Act 2010 definition of disability at the relevant time. The merits of the discrimination allegations were not determined at this hearing. | Other | Disability | — |
| Other | The claimant's strike out applications about the respondent's late filing were refused. The tribunal accepted that the delay was explained by the liquidation of the respondent's instructed firm in December 2022 and held that the high threshold for strike out was not met. | Dismissed | — | — |
Legal tests applied
3 references- Section 6 Equality Act 2010
- J v DLA Piper UK LLP [2010] ICR 1052
- Mr Igweike v TSB Bank [2019]
Official outcome judgment PDF
Gov.uk primary recordThe official judgment PDF on gov.uk contains the tribunal's outcome, reasoning, and any remedy details. Where this page does not yet show extracted outcomes for every claim, use the PDF as the authoritative source.
Published on gov.uk under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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