Case 1401295/2019 · Employment Tribunal
Mr A Smith v Ministry of Defence — 2019
- Case reference
- 1401295/2019
- Decision date
- 20 December 2019
- Jurisdiction
- England & Wales
- Judge
- Employment Judge Reed
- Venue
- Southampton
Parties
2 namedClaimant
Mr A Smith
Respondent
Key findings
Tribunal's reasoningThe claimant brought claims for unfair dismissal, disability discrimination and breach of contract. The preliminary hearing considered whether the claims should be dismissed as having no reasonable prospect of success and whether they were out of time.
The tribunal found that the claimant had remained a member of the Armed Forces throughout the relevant period. It relied on the terms of his appointment to the Territorial Army, his rank, commanding officer, absence of any contract of employment, and the fact that the complaints process he used was available only to members of the Armed Forces.
On that basis, the tribunal held that statutory provisions excluded the tribunal from entertaining the unfair dismissal, breach of contract and disability discrimination claims. The claims were struck out as having no reasonable prospect of success, and the tribunal did not need to determine the late presentation issue.
Claims and outcomes
3 findings recorded| Claim type | Issue or finding | Outcome | Protected characteristic | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unfair dismissal | The tribunal found the claim had no reasonable prospect of success because the claimant was a member of the Armed Forces and section 192(1)(a) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 excluded the right to claim unfair dismissal. | Struck out | — | — |
| Disability discrimination | The claimant said he had PTSD, anxiety and depression and that the MOD failed to make reasonable adjustments. The tribunal found the claim had no reasonable prospect of success because paragraph 4(3) of schedule 9 to the Equality Act 2010 prevented a member of the Armed Forces from bringing a disability discrimination claim in the tribunal. | Struck out | Disability | — |
| Breach of contract | The tribunal found the claim had no reasonable prospect of success because section 38(4)(a) of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 excluded breach of contract claims by members of the Armed Forces. | Struck out | — | — |
Legal tests applied
4 references- rule 37 of the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure 2013
- section 192(1)(a) Employment Rights Act 1996
- section 38(4)(a) Employment Tribunals Act 1996
- paragraph 4(3) of schedule 9 to the Equality Act 2010
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.
How we got this data
Case essentials (reference, date, judge, venue, country, claim categories) are extracted from the structured metadata gov.uk publishes alongside each decision. Parties and monetary figures are extracted from the judgment PDF text. Key findings and per-claim outcomes require a second extraction pass that is not yet complete for this case — until then, the primary source linked above is the authoritative record. See full methodology.
Named in this case and want it removed? Submit a takedown request. The page will be withdrawn on receipt and the editor will follow up within five working days.