Ms K Patel v AO World plc — 2025

Ms K Patel brought claims including harassment related to disability and sex, direct disability and sex discrimination, discrimination arising from disability, failure to make reasonable adjustments, unfair dismissal, unauthorised deduction from wages, and holiday pay. By the time of this hearing, those claims had already been dismissed without further order under rule 39(1) because the claimant had not complied with an unless order made after the 11 July 2024 preliminary hearing.

The unless order required, in summary, a medical report or letter from the claimant's GP or doctor addressing five specified points and medical records from the previous six months, to be provided by 6 September 2024. The claimant emailed the tribunal on 15 August 2024 with a GP report and sought extra time, then provided GP records and a further report on 30 September 2024. Judge Allen found that the first report answered only one of the five required questions and that the ordered medical records were not provided by the deadline, so there had been material non-compliance.

The hearing on 29 May 2025 was to consider the claimant's application under rule 39(2) for relief from sanctions. The claimant did not attend. The judge also dealt with a late application to postpone the hearing, but refused it, holding that the circumstances were not exceptional for rule 32(2)(c), even allowing for rule 32(4)(b) and the claimant's health conditions. The judge took account of the repeated postponements already granted, the late timing of the application, and the lack of any short-term prospect of the claimant attending if the matter were relisted.

Applying the rule 39(2) interests of justice test and the overriding objective, the judge weighed the claimant's health issues and promptness against the history of the proceedings, the prejudice to the respondent, the burden on tribunal resources, and the likely delay if the case were relisted. A GP letter said a legal stay of at least six months remained clinically indicated, and the judge considered that a further hearing would likely be pushed to late 2026 or later. Relief from sanctions was refused, and the listed hearings were cancelled.