In person and represented by her friend Mr Riberio (assisted by the Court appointed interpreter Mrs O Rouse) For the v Respondent — 2017

This was a reserved judgment on preliminary issues, not a merits judgment on the claim form complaints. The claim form presented on 14 March 2019 included race discrimination and unlawful deductions from wages or other payments. At case management the claimant also said she wished to pursue unfair dismissal and to complain about March 2018 conduct as race discrimination, but the judgment recorded that the hearing was to determine continuity of employment, whether an unfair dismissal complaint could be added, and whether an amendment was needed for the March 2018 race point. The tribunal did not finally decide those substantive claims in this judgment.

On the evidence, the tribunal found that the claimant had started with TCFM on 27 November 2013, but by the time of the relevant 21 November 2017 transfer date her primary work had moved to the Morrisons store in Weymouth. Applying the TUPE provisions, including the requirement that the employee be assigned to the organised grouping immediately before the transfer, the tribunal held that her employment did not transfer to the respondent. It found instead that her employment relevant to this case began under a contract signed with the respondent on 10 November 2017 for work at Portland.

The tribunal also found that the claimant was expressly dismissed from that Portland employment on 21 March 2018. It relied on contemporaneous correspondence, including the claimant's own email saying she was fired, the respondent's 28 March 2018 letter confirming termination after probation, and the 23 May 2018 HR letter refusing reinstatement or compensation and stating there was no right of appeal. Later payslips, the May 2018 exchange in which the claimant says HR told her to wait, and indirect contact in February 2019 did not displace the finding of dismissal on 21 March 2018. The tribunal therefore held that there was no TUPE continuity from TCFM and that the employment relevant to the claim had ended on 21 March 2018.