Mr S Gaskell v Virgin Media Limited — 2022

The claim was struck out at a preliminary hearing under rule 37 of the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure 2013 because the tribunal found it had no reasonable prospect of success. The tribunal found no reasonable prospect that it had jurisdiction to reconsider the Burnley County Court judgment in case B35YP855.

The tribunal found no reasonable prospect of considering complaints about holiday pay, expenses, parking fines and telephone charges because they were an abuse of process, having been the subject of previous judgments in claims 2404733/2012, 2423771/2017 and 2402306/2019. It also found no reasonable prospect that the claimant could overcome the statutory time limit issues for those complaints.

The disability discrimination and victimisation complaints concerning the respondent's alleged failure to respond to the claimant's 31 January 2018 email were struck out. The tribunal stated that the conduct of litigation would be found to be subject to judicial proceedings immunity, the complaints were out of time with no just and equitable extension, the conduct was not closely connected to the employment relationship, and there was no reasonable prospect of finding the reason for the non-response was a protected act or disability.

The tribunal also struck out the complaint that the respondent took advantage of the claimant because he had a disability by seeking compensation from the court after dismissal of the Burnley County Court claim. It gave similar reasons, including judicial proceedings immunity, time limit issues, lack of close connection to employment, and no reasonable prospect of finding the step was because the claimant was disabled. A complaint about accidental injuries allegedly caused by termination of employment was also struck out, including because the tribunal had no jurisdiction and there was no reasonable prospect of showing causation.