Ms M Okunola v TwentyAI Limited and 2 others — 2023

This was a preliminary hearing about amendment and strike-out. Ms Okunola sought permission to add a direct race discrimination claim. Employment Judge Emery refused the amendment because the same facts and allegations were already being pursued in case 2210731/2022, and the tribunal treated the duplication as an abuse of process. The judgment also recorded the respondents' jurisdiction points, including the 3rd respondent's case that it had no contractual relationship with the claimant.

The tribunal then dealt with the notice pay claim, which it treated as a breach of contract claim. As against the 1st respondent, it held that the Employment Tribunal had no jurisdiction because the relevant contract was between the 1st respondent and MAO Ltd, and the claimant did not contend that she was an employee or worker of the 1st respondent. That claim was struck out.

The tribunal also rejected the alternative notice pay claim against the 2nd respondent. It said that entitlement to notice would turn on whether the claimant had employee or worker status from 3 August 2022, and that this same employment-status issue was already in dispute in case 2210731/2022. The tribunal applied Rule 37(1) of the Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2013 and the strike-out authorities it cited, including Tayside Public Transport, Ezsias, Anyanwu, Mechkarov, HM Prison Service v Dolby and Lynch, and concluded that the claim should be struck out rather than allowed to proceed or dealt with by a deposit order. No monetary remedy was awarded.