Mr Lee Hall Respondent 1: Arriva Rail North Limited Respondent 2: Northern Trains Limited v Ms H Royle, solicitor For Northern Trains Ltd: Ms F O’Neil, solicitor — 2020

This was a preliminary hearing before Employment Judge Shotter sitting alone in Liverpool on 30 July 2020. The claimant appeared in person. The Tribunal granted by consent the claimant's application to join Northern Trains Limited as second respondent after a TUPE transfer on 1 March 2020, which transferred the claimant's employment contract to the second respondent. The Tribunal recorded that joining the second respondent was in the interests of justice and that the first respondent remained a party because of its potential continuing contractual liabilities.

The Tribunal also recorded that the claimant had carried out ACAS early conciliation in relation to the second respondent, with a certificate dated 1 July 2020 and conciliation beginning on 1 June 2020. The claimant said there was an ongoing continuing act of disability discrimination against the second respondent under sections 15 and 2 to 21 of the Equality Act 2010, and that he would issue fresh proceedings against that respondent with detailed grounds of complaint, to be consolidated and case managed with the existing proceedings.

By consent or agreement, the claimant's application to amend the claim to include disability discrimination and the application to strike out the first respondent's defence to the indirect age discrimination claim were dismissed. The Tribunal said the claimant could cross-examine the relevant witness at the liability hearing and make submissions on the shifting burden of proof. This judgment did not decide liability on the age discrimination claim and made no monetary award.