Mrs L Baroudi Abdullah v University of Manchester — 2019

The claimant had worked for the respondent from August 2000 until her dismissal in February 2019. She had previously presented a claim in May 2019 concerning unfair dismissal and matters which appeared to include discrimination. That earlier claim was settled through ACAS, a COT3 was signed in July 2019, payment was made, and the first claim was dismissed on withdrawal.

The claimant brought a second claim in December 2019 alleging unfair dismissal and discrimination on grounds of religion or belief, race and disability. The tribunal found that the second claim concerned, for all material purposes, the same matters as the first claim and that the wording of the COT3 was effective to cover the complaints discernible from the second claim.

The claimant argued that the COT3 should be set aside because she lacked mental capacity when she entered into it. The tribunal accepted that she was struggling with her mental health but found no specific crisis or deterioration around the time of signing, and no medical evidence addressing a lack of capacity to enter into the agreement. It found the COT3 valid, held that it precluded the second claim, and struck out the claim as having no reasonable prospect of success.