Mr A Conteh v HCA International Ltd — 2023

At the preliminary hearing on 20 January 2023, Mr A Conteh explained that he had been sent on a railway safety course and was referred for medical assessment. He said a doctor at Platinum Medical Centre told him, in effect, that a medical certificate could not be issued because he had schizophrenia, which meant he could not continue on the course.

The tribunal explained that claims against Intertrain UK Ltd and Express Medicals Limited had been rejected because no ACAS Early Conciliation Certificate had been obtained for those respondents. Mr Conteh accepted that Platinum Medical Centre was not a legal entity and that it was run by HCA International Ltd, which was substituted by consent as the correct respondent.

The tribunal also explained that Mr Conteh had not been an employee or worker of HCA International Ltd, so the circumstances described did not give rise to a valid Employment Tribunal claim against that respondent. After discussion at the hearing, Mr Conteh agreed to withdraw his claim.

The tribunal recorded the withdrawal and stated that the proceedings therefore came to an end. It considered whether to dismiss the claim under Rule 52 of the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure 2013, but decided not to do so because, on the information given, it could not be satisfied that there would be a legitimate reason for a further claim and considered that dismissal would not be in the interests of justice in light of the theoretical possibility of another claim and the claimant's wish to reserve that possibility.