Ms D Baker v Bar Standards Board — 2024

This was a reserved judgment following a preliminary hearing before Employment Judge Smart sitting alone at Birmingham (Midlands West) on 9 September 2024, addressing the respondent's strike-out and deposit-order applications in a claim brought by Ms D Baker, a barrister, against the Bar Standards Board as a qualifications body under the Equality Act 2010. The background concerned historic professional misconduct proceedings against the claimant arising out of a neighbour dispute, convictions which were subsequently overturned by the High Court on appeal, and later civil and employment tribunal litigation. The current claims pleaded harassment, victimisation and race discrimination relating to the respondent's handling of complaints and disclosure of materials between 2018 and 2023.

The Tribunal held that all harassment claims were struck out because it lacked jurisdiction to hear them under section 53(3) of the Equality Act 2010. Allegation 5.1.1 was struck out as res judicata on the basis of issue estoppel and the rule in Henderson v Henderson. The Tribunal indicated that a strike-out warning would be sent to the claimant in respect of allegation 5.1.9. All other strike-out applications by the respondent, and the application for a deposit order, were refused, so the remaining victimisation and discrimination allegations proceed.

The judgment records an apology for the delay in promulgation, which was attributed to a double booking of the date set aside for deliberation. No remedy was awarded at this stage; the only monetary figure noted by Layer 1 (1,000) does not appear in the available extract as a tribunal award.