Mr. D. Mabaso v Ministry of Defence — 2024

This was an open preliminary hearing about strike out and deposit order applications. The Tribunal did not hear evidence and made no findings of fact. The claimant alleged direct age and race discrimination in relation to his application to join the Royal Air Force Auxiliary Reserves, and alleged failure to make reasonable adjustments for dyslexia in relation to a defence aptitude assessment.

The Tribunal held that the age and disability discrimination claims were excluded by Schedule 9, paragraph 4(3) of the Equality Act 2010, which exempts the armed forces from the work provisions relating to age and disability. It rejected the claimant's argument that the exception did not apply to recruitment, relying on the statutory wording, explanatory notes, the Framework Directive, and Child Soldiers. The age and disability claims were therefore struck out under Rule 37(1)(a) as having no reasonable prospect of success and dismissed.

The Tribunal refused to strike out the race discrimination claim. It noted that strike out is a draconian measure, that discrimination claims require particular care, and that the claimant, a litigant in person, said he could provide further particulars and had identified potential comparators of a different race. The Tribunal considered it premature to determine the respondent's deposit order application until those further particulars were provided.