Mrs S Blair v National Crime Agency — 2018

This was a preliminary hearing concerning limitation and clarification of the claimant's pleaded claims. The Tribunal found that the ET1 included complaints of failure to make reasonable adjustments and harassment on grounds of disability. It found that the claim did not include a complaint of direct discrimination, and no application to amend to add such a complaint had been made.

The Tribunal held that the reasonable adjustments complaints related to events during Adam Ainsworth's period as line manager, ending in November 2015, including alleged issues with software, equipment, targets and a performance improvement plan. Applying the Morgan authority, it found those complaints were out of time. It also found that the harassment allegations, concerning alleged incidents in September and October 2014, were discrete complaints and were out of time when the ET1 was presented on 2 August 2017.

The Tribunal nevertheless held that it was just and equitable to extend time for the disability-related claims pleaded in the ET1. It accepted that the claimant had reasonably relied on inaccurate advice from her union representative to wait until internal grievance processes had concluded, and also took account of periods of illness related to disability and maternity leave. It found that a fair hearing remained possible, noting the existence of contemporaneous documentation and the claimant's recall of many events.