Case 1303755/2022 · Employment Tribunal
Mr J Sidhu v Worcestershire County Council and 1 other — 2023
- Case reference
- 1303755/2022
- Decision date
- 17 March 2023
- Jurisdiction
- England & Wales
- Judge
- Employment Judge Hussain Representation
Parties
3 namedClaimant
Mr J Sidhu
Key findings
Tribunal's reasoningMr Sidhu brought race and religion or belief discrimination complaints arising out of a safeguarding allegation from October 2017 and the handling of a second police investigation. The tribunal considered the history of his earlier 2018 and 2020 proceedings, including findings in the earlier judgment that the safeguarding allegation had been reported to the LADO and police, and that the respondent played no part in reactivating the police investigation.
On complaint 1, the tribunal held that res judicata barred the allegations against both respondents. It found that the facts underlying the allegations against Chris Coombs and James Borland were known to the claimant by April 2018, that the same issues had already been litigated in the 2018 and 2020 proceedings, and that cause of action estoppel, issue estoppel and, where relevant, Henderson v Henderson abuse of process applied. The tribunal agreed with the earlier decision that the respondent played no part in the reactivation of the police investigation.
On complaint 2, the tribunal struck out the Equality Act claim because it had no reasonable prospect of success. It found that the claimant was not employed by the first respondent, that there was no contractual relationship between the respondents, and that the Equality Act 2010 did not support the claimant’s vicarious-liability and negligence theory on the facts found. The tribunal also held that the complaint was out of time under section 123 of the Equality Act 2010: the complained-of act was the escalation on 18 October 2017, and the delay until August 2022 was not justified on just and equitable grounds.
The first respondent’s costs application for £3,532.50 plus VAT was dismissed. Although the tribunal found the claim had no reasonable prospect of success and noted the claimant’s prior tribunal experience, it accepted that he was a litigant in person who misunderstood the legal position and found that he did not have the means to pay the amount sought.
Claims and outcomes
2 findings recorded| Claim type | Issue or finding | Outcome | Protected characteristic | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race discrimination | The judgment disposed of the race discrimination allegations procedurally rather than on the merits: complaint 1 was dismissed because res judicata applied, and complaint 2 was struck out under Rule 37(1)(a) as having no reasonable prospect of success. The reasons section refers to the claim as presented on 25 August 2022, while paragraph 1 says 28 August 2022. | Other | Race | — |
| Religion or belief discrimination | The judgment disposed of the religion or belief discrimination allegations procedurally rather than on the merits: complaint 1 was dismissed because res judicata applied, and complaint 2 was struck out under Rule 37(1)(a) as having no reasonable prospect of success. The reasons section refers to the claim as presented on 25 August 2022, while paragraph 1 says 28 August 2022. | Other | Religion or belief | — |
Legal tests applied
10 references- res judicata
- cause of action estoppel
- issue estoppel
- Henderson v Henderson
- Rule 37(1)(a)
- section 123 Equality Act 2010
- Robertson v Bexley Community Centre
- Adedeji v University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
- section 83 Equality Act 2010
- Rule 76(1)
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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