Ms K Kaler v 1 Barabara Quartey 2 Zoe Wilson 3 Zoe Poullos 4 Bora Anvi 5 Anna Macey 6 Insights Esc Ltd — 2019

Ms K Kaler brought the present claim against five individuals and her former employer, alleging post-termination disability discrimination, detriments for protected disclosures, breach of contract and unauthorised deductions from wages. She also complained about R1, R2 and R5's conduct in the earlier July 2019 tribunal hearing, including alleged last-minute changes, demands and questioning techniques. The tribunal treated those hearing-conduct complaints as disability discrimination and/or victimisation allegations arising out of the earlier proceedings.

The tribunal held it had no jurisdiction to consider the complaints about the earlier tribunal proceedings because the principle of immunity from suit applied to what was said and done in the course of judicial proceedings. Even if immunity had not applied, the judge held those complaints would have had no reasonable prospect of success because section 108 of the Equality Act 2010 did not extend to conduct at a later tribunal hearing, long after the employment relationship with R6 had ended.

For the remaining allegations, the tribunal held that the claims against R6 were barred by res judicata / cause of action estoppel because they repeated matters already dealt with in the first case, and that the protected disclosure detriment allegations were also too late and could and should have been raised earlier so that Henderson v Henderson applied. The disability discrimination and victimisation allegations against the individual respondents were out of time, there was no basis for extending time as just and equitable, and the tribunal said the issue of whether Ms Kaler was disabled at the material time had already been decided in the earlier proceedings. It struck out the claims against R1 to R4 and ordered Ms Kaler to pay £3,500 in costs plus £780 for R5's preparation time, after finding the claims scandalous, vexatious and unreasonable under rules 37 and 76 of the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure 2013.