Mrs S Thomson v Home Office — 2024

This was a preliminary strike-out decision about the claimant’s complaint of discrimination arising from disability under section 15 of the Equality Act 2010. The claimant had advanced a series of allegations about reasonable adjustments, removal of existing adjustments, and a proposed managed move. By the time of the hearing on 15 April 2024, the tribunal treated Unfavourable Treatment Allegations 1 to 4 as the live section 15 allegations, and noted that allegation 5 was not yet part of the claim.

Applying rule 37 of the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure 2013, and citing Anyanwu, Ahir, Kaul, Malik, Cox, Drysdale and Pnaiser, the tribunal held that allegations 1 to 4 had no reasonable prospect of success. The claimant had been given several opportunities to identify the respondent’s reason for the alleged unfavourable treatment and to explain how that reason arose in consequence of disability, but she was unable to do so. The only reason she identified was that the respondent did not want people with disabilities working at Manchester Airport.

The judge held that this would amount to direct discrimination rather than discrimination arising from disability, because it was the disability itself and not something arising from it. On that basis, Unfavourable Treatment Allegations 1 to 4 were struck out.

The tribunal treated Unfavourable Treatment Allegation 5 differently because it was not yet part of the claim and would first require permission to amend. The judge said the claimant’s later explanation might make it arguable as a section 15 complaint if amended, but any amendment would have to address time limit issues. The judge also refused permission to amend the claim to add a harassment complaint arising from the 4 December 2023 meeting, and made no order in relation to Unfavourable Treatment Allegation 6 because the claimant appeared no longer to be pursuing it. No monetary award was made.