Mr F Egure v The Secretary of State for Justice — 2019

At a preliminary hearing, the tribunal considered the claimant's applications to amend and the respondent's applications to strike out claims or obtain deposit orders. The claimant sought to add race discrimination claims about the recruitment process, which had previously been presented as background, and to add a constructive dismissal claim framed as a breach of contract claim for notice pay.

The tribunal refused both amendments. It found that the constructive dismissal amendment would add a new type of claim after the relevant time limit, and that the recruitment-process race allegations would substantially expand the scope of the case, involve different witnesses and events predating employment, and raise significant time-limit and liability issues. Applying the balance of prejudice, the tribunal decided not to exercise its discretion to allow either amendment.

The tribunal refused the respondent's strike out and deposit order applications in relation to the existing race discrimination claims. It held that it could not determine at this stage whether the allegations formed conduct extending over a period, and that the time-limit issues should be left to the final hearing after evidence. The tribunal was also not satisfied that the claims had no reasonable prospect, or little reasonable prospect, of success.