Mr M Shubita v The University of Leeds Beckett (1806695/2022) 1 The University of Warwick (1303969/2023) 2 Dan Derricott 3 Rosie Drinkwater — 2023

At a public preliminary hearing on 17 August 2023, Employment Judge JM Wade dealt with claim number 1303969/2023 by consent alongside the related Leeds proceedings. The claimant had applied for a fixed-term higher-grade post in May 2022, was told on 23 June 2022 that he had not been shortlisted, and later brought proceedings after ACAS conciliation and a certificate dated 13 April 2023. Leeds had approached Warwick in early August 2022 to assess the application, and Mr Derricott confirmed that he would not shortlist the claimant for interview.

The judge explained that he had to assess whether any pleaded contentions had reasonable prospects of success. He held that there was no Employment Rights Act claim against Warwick, Ms Drinkwater or Mr Derricott because the claimant was not a worker or employee of Warwick. He also noted that, although the respondents might have been acting as agents for Leeds and could potentially engage the Equality Act, the claimant did not explain how their conduct amounted to race discrimination or identify a clear basis for the complaint.

In those circumstances the judge found that claim number 1303969/2023 had no reasonable prospects of success and struck it out. He declined to allow further time for clarification or to make a deposit order, saying that would not be in the interests of justice and would distract from the separate Leeds claim, which remained listed for a final hearing later in 2023.