Mr I Fothergill v Leeds & Yorkshire Housing Association Limited — 2019

The unfair dismissal claim was dismissed by consent after the claimant accepted that he did not have two years' continuous employment. The judgment also records that whether he was an employee was in doubt, but that question was not argued. No remedy arose from that claim.

The claimant brought two race discrimination complaints said to arise on 15 January 2018, possibly 21 December 2017, and 18 February 2018. Because the claim form was not presented until 27 June 2019, the tribunal considered whether it was just and equitable to extend time under section 123(1)(b) Equality Act 2010. Referring to Perth and Kinross Council v Townsley, it accepted the claimant's evidence that his ignorance of his rights was genuine and reasonable, and it extended time to validate both race claims.

On the strike out and deposit applications, the tribunal noted that there was conflict in the evidence and that some documents were unavailable because of the respondent's retention policy. Applying the caution identified in Anyanwu, it declined to strike out the discrimination claims and also refused a deposit order, recording that such an order was not appropriate having regard to the claimant's ability to pay. The judgment did not decide the merits of the race claims and made no monetary award.