Estela Neicelyte v Bixbite German Doner Kebab — 2022

Estela Neicelyte brought claims for unfair dismissal and religion or belief discrimination arising from her dismissal on 13 or 14 June 2022. The Tribunal recorded that the claim form was unclear, that the only acts identified were exclusion from training and the dismissal itself, and that the later handwritten letter and email did not provide meaningful additional particulars.

On the unfair dismissal claim, the Tribunal held that the Claimant could not pursue an ordinary unfair dismissal claim because she did not have two years' continuous service, as required by s.108(1) ERA 1996. The Tribunal also said that if she intended to advance an automatic unfair dismissal case, the claim form and subsequent correspondence did not identify the legal ground or any supporting facts that could bring the case within s.108(3) ERA 1996.

On the religion or belief discrimination claim, the Tribunal found that no particularised protected belief had been identified and no explanation had been given for why the dismissal was said to be connected to that belief. The later correspondence referred to her religion as being of 'Lithuanian origin', to ticking 'other', and to beliefs involving having a baby and being married prior to reproduction, but the Tribunal said this did not obviously relate to the claim.

The Claimant did not attend the preliminary hearing, did not complete the case management agenda, had not updated her contact details, and had not engaged with the Tribunal for almost a year. The Tribunal struck out all claims under rule 37 of the Employment Tribunals Rules 2013, relying on the absence of reasonable prospects of success and on the Claimant's failure to comply with Tribunal orders and to actively pursue the case.