Mr A Sylla v DHL Services Limited — 2025

The claimant brought claims described as disability discrimination and arrears of pay, and was later permitted to add two disability-related harassment claims. The judgment was made at a preliminary hearing and struck out the claim under Rule 38(1)(b) and (c) of the Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024.

The Tribunal found proven failures to comply with case management orders, including failure to provide an impact statement for an earlier disability preliminary hearing and later failure to disclose documents and prepare and serve a witness statement in time for the listed final hearing. The Tribunal did not find wilful disobedience in the sense of mischievous and intentional disobedience, but concluded that the claimant had persistently and with some deliberation not complied with orders in time.

Taking the overriding objective into account, the Tribunal concluded that a fair hearing in October 2026 was no longer achievable, given the age of the allegations, the importance of oral evidence, the claimant's apparent loss of memory about procedural events, and the respondent's difficulties in obtaining witness evidence. It held that striking out was the proper and proportionate outcome.