in person Interpreter (Polish) Miss A Gleb The v Respondent — 2023

The claimant worked for Taylor Made Golf Limited as a warehouse operative through Adecco from 6 January 2020 until the assignment ended on 12 March 2021. The tribunal recorded that the respondent had concerns about the claimant's performance and that the termination of the assignment was handled through Adecco. The claimant later brought claims about unfair dismissal, detriment and pregnancy and maternity discrimination, after earlier proceedings and ACAS early conciliation issues had caused procedural confusion.

On employment status, the tribunal found that the claimant was not an employee of the respondent for the purposes of s.230 ERA 1996. Although she worked under the respondent's day-to-day direction and had worked there for over 12 months, the tribunal relied on the written contract with Adecco, weekly payment through Adecco, the requirement to notify absence to Adecco, and the fact that Adecco handled the assignment and its termination. On that basis, the unfair dismissal complaint and the linked detriment complaint were dismissed, and the employment-based pregnancy and maternity discrimination complaint under s.39 Equality Act 2010 was also dismissed.

The tribunal accepted that the claimant was a contract worker for the purposes of s.41 Equality Act 2010. It found that the pregnancy and maternity discrimination claim under ss.18 and 41 was presented nearly a year out of time, but exercised its discretion to extend time on a just and equitable basis. In reaching that conclusion, the tribunal took into account the claimant's repeated attempts to pursue the respondent claim, her limited English and lack of professional assistance, the tribunal's failure to action earlier submissions of the ACAS certificate, and the resulting confusion after the earlier Adecco proceedings. The contract-worker discrimination claim was allowed to proceed, with the merits left for later determination.