Ms H Fynn-O’Neill v Study Group Limited — 2021

The claimant presented the claim on 9 December 2020 after Acas early conciliation ended on 11 September 2020. At this preliminary hearing the tribunal dealt with limitation and amendment issues arising from the claimant's race discrimination, harassment related to race, and wages complaints against Study Group UK Limited.

On the wages complaint, the tribunal held that the extant claim for 100 hours at £18 per hour, said to be payable at or around the end of 2019, was presented outside the three-month time limit in section 23(2) ERA 1996 when it was reasonably practicable to present it in time. It therefore had no jurisdiction to consider that complaint. It also refused the proposed amendment for 511 hours of unpaid work between October 2019 and August 2020, holding that the case was really one for quantum meruit and not a quantified deduction under Part II of the 1996 Act.

On the Equality Act claims, the tribunal extended time under section 123 because the claimant said she had tolerated matters during 2019, later became unwell, and had then sought legal advice, while there was no evidence of material prejudice to the respondent. It allowed the race discrimination complaints in paragraph 21(a) to (m) and (o) of the proposed amended statement of case to proceed, and allowed the same allegations to proceed as harassment related to race. It refused amendment for paragraph 21(n), (p) and (q), finding those matters were wholly new or not clearly connected with race. No merits decision or remedy was made; the matter was re-listed for further case management.