Claimant v HC-One Oval Limited — 2021

At the preliminary hearing on 10 June 2021, Employment Judge Cheetham QC considered Ms A Agore's application to amend her claim against HC-One Oval Limited, arising from employment as a Registered Nurse between 29 November 2019 and 23 April 2020. The claimant said she was disabled by asthma, although that was not admitted. The tribunal also recorded that the direct race discrimination claim had been withdrawn by the claimant's solicitors in a letter dated 26 May 2021 and was dismissed.

Applying Selkent Bus Co Ltd v Moore [1996] ICR 836, the tribunal refused amendment of the proposed health and safety detriment and automatic unfair dismissal claims under the Employment Rights Act 1996 ss.44 and 100. It found those claims were entirely new, lacked particulars, were out of time, and would prejudice the respondent. The tribunal also refused a proposed direct discrimination claim under EqA 2010 s.13, explaining that what was described was not direct discrimination but discrimination arising from disability, and refused the proposed indirect discrimination claim under s.19 because the claimant could not identify the relevant disadvantage or answer the justification point.

The application was allowed only to the extent of a discrimination arising from disability claim under EqA 2010 s.15 and a failure to make reasonable adjustments claim under s.20. The tribunal treated the s.15 claim as a complaint about the claimant's dismissal and the s.20 claim as an allegation that she should have been given more time to complete e-learning. It refused amendment of the harassment claim, the wrongful dismissal claim, and the unlawful deduction from wages claim for want of proper particulars, contractual basis, or prospect of success. No monetary remedy was determined in this judgment; the deposit order and case management orders were dealt with separately.