Mr Alton v Royal Caribbean Cruises — 2020

The claimant alleged disability discrimination in relation to the respondent's decision that he could not continue with the role. The tribunal did not determine the merits of that allegation because the threshold issue was territorial jurisdiction. It recorded that the respondent was a Liberian-registered cruise company with headquarters in Miami, and that the claimant had been recruited through the UK-based Kings Recruit agency.

Applying section 81 Equality Act 2010 and Regulation 4 of the Equality Act 2010 (Work on Ships and Hovercraft) Regulations 2011, the tribunal found that the employment was on board a ship registered in the Bahamas, not a UK ship. It also found there was no evidence that the ship's port of choice was Great Britain, and no evidence that the claimant's legal relationship of employment was located within Great Britain or retained a sufficiently close link with Great Britain. The tribunal held that Kings Recruit's role as a recruitment agency did not confer jurisdiction because the legal relationship was with the respondent.

The tribunal referred to Walker v Wallem Ship Management Ltd [2020] IRLR 257 and said it could not adopt a beneficial construction to extend jurisdiction beyond the statute and regulations. Having concluded that it had no territorial jurisdiction, it dismissed the claim and said it did not need to decide whether the claim was out of time or whether it was just and equitable to extend time.