Claimant v NDL Yorkshire Ltd and others — 2022

At the preliminary hearing on 22 March 2022, Employment Judge Shulman heard an application by HR Business Plus Ltd and Sheila Watson to strike out, and alternatively seek deposit orders in respect of, the claims brought against them. The pleaded matters at paragraphs 11u to 15 of the claim were described as sex discrimination and pregnancy and maternity complaints, and the tribunal noted that they were not yet fully specified as direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment and/or victimisation.

The tribunal found that NDL Yorkshire Ltd had authorised the second respondent to arrange and attend redundancy consultation meetings and to report back, but that its authority went no further. The second respondent and the third respondent were described as advisors and consultants only, all decisions remained with the first respondent, and they could not affect the legal relationship between the claimant and the first respondent. On that basis, the tribunal held that the second and third respondents were neither the claimant's employers nor agents for the purposes of section 109(2) of the Equality Act 2010.

Applying those legal principles, the tribunal concluded that all claims against the second and third respondents had no reasonable prospect of success and should be struck out. The claimant had referred to Anyanwu v South Bank Students' Union, but the tribunal said that case concerned the importance of not striking out discrimination claims except in the most obvious cases, whereas this case turned on a different point of law about status and agency. The tribunal also declined to make a deposit order for the same reasons, and the claimant's claims against the first respondent remained extant.