Ms P M Duckworth v Gas and Electricity Connections Ltd — 2024

At a preliminary stage the tribunal found that Ms P M Duckworth was disabled for Equality Act purposes by reason of peripheral nerve hyper-excitability disorder. She then withdrew her direct disability discrimination complaint. The remaining claims were indirect disability discrimination, failure to make reasonable adjustments, discrimination arising from disability, and constructive unfair dismissal. The tribunal dismissed the disability discrimination claims as out of time, treating 26 November 2020 as the latest relevant date and finding that the ET1 presented on 29 April 2021 was at least 26 days late after ACAS early conciliation.

On the time-limit issue the tribunal applied British Coal Corporation v Keeble, Robertson v Bexley Community Centre t/a Leisure Link, Chohan v Derby Law Centre, London Borough of Southwark v Afolabi, Concentrix CVG Intelligent Contact Ltd v Obi, and Polystar Plastic Ltd v Liepa. It accepted that the claimant had acted promptly in raising a grievance and contacting ACAS, but found that the reason for the 10-week gap before the claim form was presented was not explained in her evidence. That absence of an explanation was treated as a significant factor, and the tribunal refused to extend time on the just and equitable basis.

The constructive dismissal claim was considered under section 95(1)(c) ERA 1996 and the authorities including Western Excavating, Malik, Woods, Omilaju, Kaur, W A Goold, Blackburn v Aldi, Chandhok, and Harrison v Norwest Holst. The tribunal held that there was no express term preventing a move to another department, that the proposed temporary move to Sales was withdrawn before the claimant returned to work, and that any alleged anticipatory breach was remedied before acceptance. It also found that Jill Rhodes's grievance investigation and outcome were professional and did not amount to a fundamental breach of trust and confidence. The constructive unfair dismissal claim was dismissed, and the tribunal concluded that all claims were dismissed.