Claimant v Just Eat.co.uk Ltd — 2023

The claimant was employed by the respondent from around 16 August 2021 until around 7 March 2022. He presented claims on 20 July 2022 for unfair dismissal, disability discrimination and sexual orientation discrimination. The unfair dismissal complaint was dismissed on 7 October 2022 after the claimant failed to provide representations in response to the Tribunal's order of 22 September 2022. The sexual orientation discrimination complaint was withdrawn by the claimant and dismissed at the case management preliminary hearing on 17 October 2022.

At the telephone hearing on 1 March 2023, Employment Judge McCluskey considered whether the remaining disability discrimination claim should be struck out for non-compliance with Tribunal orders or because it had not been actively pursued. The Tribunal applied Rule 37, the overriding objective, and the authorities cited in the reasons, including Weir Valves and Controls (UK) Ltd v Armitage, Blockbuster Entertainment Ltd v James, Baber v Royal Bank of Scotland plc, Otehtubi v Friends in St Helier, Birkett v James and Rolls Royce plc v Riddle. The judge recorded that the claimant had been trying to obtain updated GP records, had provided a disability impact statement and NHS screenshots, and had later sent a schedule of loss and witness statements.

The Tribunal accepted that there had been delay and some disruption for the respondent, but found that the claimant's conduct did not amount to deliberate or persistent disregard of the orders and that a fair hearing still appeared possible. The judge concluded that strike out would not be a proportionate response. The disability discrimination claim therefore remained live, but no substantive merits decision or monetary award was made at that hearing.