Mr Peter Graham v Chief Constable of Cleveland Police — 2021

At a public preliminary hearing on 12 February and 3 March 2021, Employment Judge Johnson considered the claimant's application to strike out the respondent's response. Mr Peter Graham, a serving police inspector, had alleged unlawful disability discrimination in relation to being denied opportunities to act up as Acting Chief Inspector, to perform Temporary Chief Inspector duties, and to be promoted to Chief Inspector. The pleaded complaints included direct discrimination because of disability, unfavourable treatment because of something arising in consequence of disability, and indirect discrimination under section 19 of the Equality Act 2010 concerning a requirement to be able to perform arrest, restraint and/or full officer safety training. The respondent conceded on 11 February 2021 that the claimant was disabled within section 6 of the Equality Act 2010 from 10 November 2015 and that it knew of that disability from that date.

The tribunal refused the strike-out application. It held that the respondent had complied with the 12 February 2021 unless order by serving a form N265 disclosure statement signed by the Chief Constable, and that the claimant's concerns about the limited disclosure and the destruction of some 2019 promotion-board papers could be explored by cross-examination at the final hearing. Applying Rule 37 and citing Anyanwu, Ahir, Kaur, Parkin and Hedrich, the tribunal said the respondent's amended case, taken at its highest, could not be said to have no reasonable prospect of success and that it was not satisfied that a fair trial was impossible.

No merits findings were made on the disability discrimination claims and no monetary award was decided in this judgment. The case was left to proceed to the final hearing listed for March 2021.