In person For the v Ms J Bann, solicitor — 2021

This was a preliminary hearing before Employment Judge Brown sitting alone. The claimant, an agency worker assigned to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea as a multi tradesman, brought a complaint of age discrimination arising from the termination of his assignment. The tribunal identified the relevant act as the decision made and communicated on 26 April 2019 that the assignment would end, and noted that the claimant was not employed by the respondent.

The claimant argued that he only learned on 27 July 2019, during an alleged conversation with Mr Logue, that the assignment had ended because he was too old. The tribunal preferred Mr Logue’s evidence, found the claimant’s account vague and unconvincing, and found that no such conversation took place. It found that the claimant knew on 26 April 2019 that the reason given for termination was downsizing, and rejected any suggestion that a different decision was made later.

On time limits, the tribunal applied section 123 Equality Act 2010 and section 207B ERA 1996. It found that the claimant did not contact ACAS until 5 August 2019 and did not present his tribunal claim until 16 September 2019, by which time the claim was already out of time on the tribunal’s calculation. Applying the just and equitable discretion, the tribunal held that there was no explanation for the delay, no evidence that the claimant was unaware of his right to claim or otherwise prevented from bringing proceedings earlier, and no basis to extend time.

The tribunal therefore held that the claim was presented out of time and that it had no jurisdiction to hear it. The claim was dismissed, and the tribunal did not make any findings on the substantive age discrimination allegations beyond the timeliness issue.