Claimant v The Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Foundation Trust — 2022

This was an open preliminary hearing on 15 December 2022 before Employment Judge A Stewart sitting alone. The claimant did not attend. The respondent applied to strike out the remaining complaints and, in the alternative, for a deposit order of up to £1,000. The tribunal proceeded in her absence after noting the notice history and the lack of response from the claimant since about mid-September 2022.

The tribunal struck out the unfair dismissal complaint. It found that the claimant had been employed from 18 October 2021 until 11 March 2022, which was less than the two-year qualifying period required by section 108(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The tribunal said there was nothing in the pleadings or documents, and no response from the claimant, to suggest any basis on which the unfair dismissal claim could proceed, so the tribunal had no jurisdiction to hear it.

As to the discrimination complaints, the tribunal did not strike them out at this hearing. It recorded that the claimant had been asked to permit disclosure of relevant parts of her medical records and to provide documents relevant to her discrimination complaints, but had not done so. The tribunal considered strike-out to be inappropriate at that stage, given the rare nature of striking out discrimination claims without a merits hearing, and instead made an unless order requiring compliance by 19 January 2023.

The order required the claimant to give permission for disclosure of relevant medical records, provide any documents in her possession or control relevant to her discrimination complaints, and confirm whether she intended to pursue her disability and/or race discrimination claims. The tribunal noted that the respondent did not pursue the deposit order application, and it raised the possibility of judicial mediation if the claimant complied with the order.