In person, assisted by her partner Mr N Thompson For the v First Light Southwest Ltd — 2022

This was a preliminary hearing on the claimant's disability discrimination complaint, which was limited to an alleged failure to make reasonable adjustments. The respondent did not attend the hearing, but it provided written representations. The tribunal first decided that the claimant, who had a benign brain tumour causing symptoms from April 2020, was a disabled person at all material times within the Equality Act 2010. It rejected the respondent's submission that the condition was a deemed disability as cancer, but found the impairment had a substantial and long-term adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities.

The tribunal then considered limitation. It found that the claimant knew by 27 September 2020 that the respondent would no longer permit the agreed home-working adjustment on Wednesdays, and treated time as running from that point. The claimant began ACAS early conciliation on 17 February 2021, received the certificate on 19 March 2021, and presented the claim on 11 April 2021. On that basis, the tribunal held the complaint was about seven weeks out of time when the early conciliation rules were applied.

In deciding whether to extend time, the tribunal considered the absence of medical evidence showing that the claimant had been prevented from issuing proceedings in time, together with the fact that she was able to seek advice from Citizens Advice and communicate with ACAS. It accepted that she had been unwell at times, including with the brain tumour and later Covid, but found she had not given a cogent explanation for the delay or shown that it would be just and equitable to extend time. The disability discrimination claim was therefore dismissed without any remedy being awarded.