Case 2217082/2023 · Employment Tribunal
(1) Eiman Hussein (2) Maya Mukamel (3) Malgorzata Monika Milewicz (4) Jane Hunt (5) Cathy Lasher v The Metanoia Institute — 2024
- Case reference
- 2217082/2023
- Decision date
- 15 May 2024
- Jurisdiction
- England & Wales
- Judge
- Employment Judge Representation
Parties
2 namedClaimant
(1) Eiman Hussein (2) Maya Mukamel (3) Malgorzata Monika Milewicz (4) Jane Hunt (5) Cathy Lasher
Respondent
Key findings
Tribunal's reasoningThese consolidated claims against The Metanoia Institute were heard at a two-day open preliminary hearing on 13 and 14 May 2024. The tribunal dealt with amendment applications, time limits, strike-out and possible deposit orders. The claims arose from the claimants' concerns about racism in the workplace and the way senior management responded. The second claimant's application to add victimisation and the third claimant's application to add constructive unfair dismissal were refused. No monetary award was made in this judgment.
The third claimant withdrew her complaint about pension contributions, which the judgment records as dismissed upon withdrawal. The tribunal also struck out the third claimant's victimisation complaints based on the alleged second and fourth protected acts under Rule 37(1)(a). It held that the pleaded matters did not amount to protected acts within s.27 Equality Act 2010 and therefore could not support the necessary causal link.
The fourth claimant's victimisation claim was found to be out of time under s.123 Equality Act 2010, and the tribunal refused to extend time on a just and equitable basis. The judge noted limited evidence explaining the delay, the claimant's evidence that she was on annual leave in August 2023, and the likelihood of forensic prejudice if the matter proceeded. Her whistleblowing claim was not struck out, because although the pleading was imperfect the hearing clarified her position and the tribunal considered strike-out at that stage would be draconian.
The fifth claimant's direct religion discrimination, religion-related harassment and victimisation claims were also out of time and no just and equitable extension was granted. The tribunal noted that she had started new employment on 1 September 2023 and there was insufficient evidence explaining the delay until January 2024. Her constructive unfair dismissal and whistleblowing claims were left to proceed to trial.
Claims and outcomes
9 findings recordedThis case has mixed outcomes under at least one legal claim type. A tribunal can uphold some allegations and dismiss others under the same legal head, so rows below may represent separate issues or allegation groups from the judgment.
| Claim type | Issue or finding | Outcome | Protected characteristic | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | Complaint relating to pension contributions; withdrawn after the third claimant said the contributions had been paid. The judgment records it as dismissed upon withdrawal. | Withdrawn | — | — |
| Victimisation | Struck out under Rule 37(1)(a); the pleaded second and fourth protected acts were held not to be protected acts within s.27 Equality Act 2010, so there was no viable causal link. | Struck out | — | — |
| Victimisation | Out of time under s.123 Equality Act 2010; the tribunal refused to extend time on a just and equitable basis. | Dismissed | — | — |
| Whistleblowing | The tribunal noted pleading shortcomings but refused strike-out; the claim proceeds to trial. | Other | — | — |
| Constructive dismissal | Constructive unfair dismissal claim not struck out and left to proceed to trial. | Other | — | — |
| Whistleblowing | Detriment due to whistleblowing claim not struck out and left to proceed to trial. | Other | — | — |
Legal tests applied
13 references- s.111(2) ERA 1996 not reasonably practicable
- Porter v Bandridge
- Palmer v Southend-on-Sea Borough Council
- s.48(3) ERA 1996
- s.123 Equality Act 2010
- Robertson v Bexley Community Centre t/a Leisure Link
- Jones v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care 2024 EAT 2
- Miller and ors v Ministry of Justice and ors EAT 0003/15
- Rule 37(1)(a) no reasonable prospect of success
- Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board v Ferguson
- Anyanwu and anor v South Bank Student Union and anor
- Ezsias v North Glamorgan NHS Trust
- s.27 Equality Act 2010 protected act
Official outcome judgment PDF
Gov.uk primary recordThe official judgment PDF on gov.uk contains the tribunal's outcome, reasoning, and any remedy details. Where this page does not yet show extracted outcomes for every claim, use the PDF as the authoritative source.
Published on gov.uk under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
How we got this data
Case essentials (reference, date, judge, venue, country, claim categories) are extracted from the structured metadata gov.uk publishes alongside each decision. Parties and monetary figures are extracted from the judgment PDF text. Key findings and per-claim outcomes require a second extraction pass that is not yet complete for this case — until then, the primary source linked above is the authoritative record. See full methodology.
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