Case 2200058/2019 · Employment Tribunal
Dr C Mallon v Grant Thornton LLP — 2023
- Case reference
- 2200058/2019
- Decision date
- 6 March 2023
- Jurisdiction
- England & Wales
- Judge
- Employment Judge V. Jones Representation
Parties
2 namedClaimant
Dr C Mallon
Respondent
Key findings
Tribunal's reasoningDr C Mallon brought disability discrimination complaints arising from Grant Thornton's recruitment for an R&D Tax Manager role. At this preliminary hearing the tribunal identified three direct discrimination complaints, a reasonable adjustments complaint, and a discrimination arising from disability complaint. The hearing was concerned with time limits, strike-out, deposit orders, and case management rather than final liability. No substantive remedy was awarded; instead, two deposit orders of £500 were made against the claimant in relation to the reasonable adjustments and section 15 claims.
The tribunal held that the June 2018 refusal to interview and the 31 July 2018 rejection after interview were out of time. It rejected the claimant's argument that those complaints formed part of a continuing act extending to 28 November 2018, finding that the original application ended on 31 July 2018 and that the 28 November request for a fresh oral application was a discrete decision by a different manager. It concluded that it was not just and equitable to extend time for the June and July complaints, in part because the claimant knew or should have known by 15 August 2018 that the explanation given to him was not transparent, and because there would be prejudice to the respondent if the claims were allowed to proceed. Those two direct discrimination complaints were therefore struck out for lack of jurisdiction.
The tribunal extended time for the section 15 discrimination arising from disability claim because the claimant only learned on 5 December 2018 that Mr Harris had described him as 'aggressive'. It refused the respondent's strike-out application on that claim, but ordered a £500 deposit under Rule 39 because it considered the claim had little reasonable prospect of success. It also refused to strike out the direct discrimination claim based on the refusal to permit a fresh oral application on 28 November 2018, holding that this issue could only be resolved at a final hearing. The respondent's alternative argument that all the claims were vexatious was rejected.
Claims and outcomes
5 findings recordedThis case has mixed outcomes under at least one legal claim type. A tribunal can uphold some allegations and dismiss others under the same legal head, so rows below may represent separate issues or allegation groups from the judgment.
| Claim type | Issue or finding | Outcome | Protected characteristic | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disability discrimination | Direct disability discrimination claim about the rejection without interview of the R&D Tax Manager application between 7 and 14 June 2018. The tribunal held it was out of time and that it was not just and equitable to extend time, so the claim was struck out for lack of jurisdiction. | Struck out | Disability | — |
| Disability discrimination | Direct disability discrimination claim about the rejection after interview on 31 July 2018. The tribunal held it was out of time and that it was not just and equitable to extend time, so the claim was struck out for lack of jurisdiction. | Struck out | Disability | — |
| Disability discrimination | Direct disability discrimination claim about Richard Waite's refusal on or around 28 November 2018 to allow a fresh oral application for the re-advertised role. The tribunal refused strike-out and refused a deposit order, holding that the issue should be determined at a final hearing. | Other | Disability | — |
| Disability discrimination | Failure to make reasonable adjustments claim under section 20 Equality Act 2010 concerning the asserted PCP of considering only written applications/CVs when the role was re-advertised in November 2018. The tribunal refused strike-out but found little reasonable prospect of success and ordered a £500 deposit. | Other | Disability | — |
Legal tests applied
7 references- s.123 Equality Act 2010 just and equitable extension
- s.207B Employment Rights Act 1996 early conciliation
- continuing act
- Rule 37(1)(a) no reasonable prospects of success
- Ezsias v North Glamorgan NHS Trust
- Anyanwu v South Banks Student Union and South Bank University
- Rule 39 deposit order
Official outcome judgment PDF
Gov.uk primary recordThe official judgment PDF on gov.uk contains the tribunal's outcome, reasoning, and any remedy details. Where this page does not yet show extracted outcomes for every claim, use the PDF as the authoritative source.
Published on gov.uk under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
How we got this data
Case essentials (reference, date, judge, venue, country, claim categories) are extracted from the structured metadata gov.uk publishes alongside each decision. Parties and monetary figures are extracted from the judgment PDF text. Key findings and per-claim outcomes require a second extraction pass that is not yet complete for this case — until then, the primary source linked above is the authoritative record. See full methodology.
Named in this case and want it removed? Submit a takedown request. The page will be withdrawn on receipt and the editor will follow up within five working days.