Mr Derek McCoy v AND First Greater Western Limited — 2021

This judgment concerns the claimant's application for reconsideration of a Rule 12 rejection, not the merits of the underlying employment dispute. The tribunal had previously rejected the claim because the name of the respondent on the claim form, First Greater Western Limited, did not match the name on the early conciliation certificate, First Group plc. GWR. The claimant said he had been a litigant in person when starting early conciliation, had later instructed representatives, and had used the trading name GWR because that was the name appearing on correspondence and disciplinary documents.

The tribunal applied the amended Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure 2013 and accepted that the claimant had made an error in identifying the respondent. It found that the claim was directed to the correct entity, that the respondent was part of a complex group which made identification difficult for a litigant in person, and that conciliation had taken place with the parent company. Balancing prejudice to the parties, the tribunal held that it would not be in the interests of justice to reject the claim. The application for reconsideration was granted and the claim form was accepted with effect from 16 October 2020. No merits finding or monetary remedy was determined in this judgment.