Claimant v Tavares v Reed Specialist Recruitment Ltd and Others — 2022

At the preliminary hearing on 21 January 2022, the claimant appeared in person and had not provided a witness statement or documents. The tribunal accepted the contractual structure described in R1's email and the evidence from the parties: R1 had placed the claimant on assignment with R3, the claimant had chosen to use R2 as an intermediary for payment, R1 contracted with R2, and R2 employed the claimant. On that basis, R1 was removed from the proceedings and the claims against R2 were struck out as having no reasonable prospect of success.

The claimant said he was effectively seeking payment for seven unpaid days. Using the gross pay for five days of £635, the tribunal calculated the claimed seven-day amount at £889, which the claimant accepted. No award was made at this hearing, but the tribunal noted that if the race discrimination claim later succeeded, those sums might form part of compensation, together with any injury to feelings award.

The unfair dismissal claim was dismissed because the claimant did not have two years' continuous service with R2. The tribunal recorded that the claimant said his race discrimination complaint was based on his Portuguese nationality and concerned conduct by R3's subcontractors, including Steve Tuffin, about his work and the termination of his assignment. The only claim left live after this hearing was direct race discrimination under section 41 of the Equality Act 2010 against R3, and the claimant was ordered to provide further particulars by 21 February 2022.