Mr Thomas Manley v Secretary of State for Justice PRELIMINARY HEARING — 2022

The tribunal dismissed the unfair dismissal complaint because it was presented outside the relevant time limits. It also found that, between January and April 2020, the claimant was not a disabled person within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010 because of stress, so the three disability discrimination complaints based on that period failed.

The remaining complaints were a complaint of direct disability discrimination, alternatively section 15 discrimination, concerning an alleged refusal to accept a grievance and/or an attempt to dissuade the claimant from pursuing a grievance on or around 28 October 2020, and a complaint of direct disability discrimination, alternatively section 15 discrimination, by dismissal. The tribunal was not satisfied that either remaining complaint had no reasonable prospects of success, so neither was struck out under rule 37(1)(a).

Of the remaining complaints, the tribunal said the section 15 discrimination complaint by dismissal had little reasonable prospects of success. The reasons given were that the claimant had not been able to identify consistently what the relevant 'something' was that arose in consequence of disability and led to dismissal, and that a later factual basis raised during the preliminary hearing would likely depend only on his bare assertions. The tribunal therefore ordered a deposit of £400 to be paid by 1 September 2022 if he wished to continue to advance that complaint.