Miss H Gendi v Endeavour Automotive Limited — 2024

Miss H Gendi was employed as a general sales manager from 3 October 2022 until dismissal with immediate effect on 17 April 2023. The tribunal dismissed her complaints of protected disclosure detriment, direct sex discrimination, direct race discrimination, harassment related to sex, harassment related to race, victimisation, and the separate breach of contract/unlawful deductions complaint about extra days worked. No monetary award was made.

On limitation, the tribunal held that most of the sex and race allegations were out of time, with only the grievance, dismissal, appeal and related matters treated as in time. It declined to extend time under s.123 EqA 2010 because, after hearing the evidence, it considered the claims lacked sufficient merit to justify an extension.

On the merits, the tribunal found the 10 March 2023 concerns meeting was a legitimate management meeting about performance and conduct, not a discriminatory one. It rejected allegations of sexist or racist remarks, exclusion from meetings, the sales-flag incident, the roundtable invitation, and the dismissal meeting, often because the allegations were unproven on the evidence or lacked a link to sex or race.

The tribunal noted that the grievance and appeal did not raise sex, race or whistleblowing complaints at the time. It also found the claimant had not shown facts from which discrimination could be inferred under s.136 EqA 2010, and that the respondent's witnesses and contemporaneous notes were preferred on the key disputed events.

The protected disclosure claim concerned alleged disclosures on 9, 10 and 13 March 2023. The tribunal found no qualifying disclosure had been made, held that the last alleged disclosure was 13 March 2023, and concluded the claim was out of time because early conciliation began after the primary limitation period; it found no continuing act and no basis for a reasonably practicable extension. On the pay issue, it found an initial breach when the claimant was asked to work an extra day, but held she accepted the position by conduct on later months so the claim failed overall; the victimisation complaint was dismissed after withdrawal by the claimant.