Mr J Johnson v KOCA Community Projects CIC and 1 other — 2023

Mr J Johnson brought race discrimination, victimisation and harassment complaints against KOCA Community Projects CIC and Mr W Judd. The hearing on 29 September 2023 proceeded in his absence after the tribunal considered his request for a video hearing and the fit note he provided, which did not say he was unable to attend in person. The tribunal treated the emailed material he sent that day as an additional witness statement and heard evidence from Mr Judd.

On the facts, the tribunal found that in September and October 2022 the claimant did some paid work for the first respondent to help it raise grant funding, invoiced at £20 per hour for no more than five hours per week. It found that any further work after that was agreed to be voluntary, rejected the claimant's account that he had been engaged to run an offsite community martial arts programme, and found that the later August 2023 invoice for £32,000 did not reflect actual work done. The tribunal also found that the last relevant act was Mr Judd's 8 February 2023 email accusing the claimant of fraud after grant money had been transferred into the claimant's personal account.

The tribunal held that the last act occurred on 8 February 2023, so ACAS early conciliation needed to begin by 7 May 2023. It did not begin until 15 May 2023, so the claims were outside the primary time limit in section 123(1)(a) of the Equality Act 2010. The tribunal then considered whether it was just and equitable to extend time, but found there was no evidence explaining the delay, the claimant had shown he was able to research and write, his ill health did not explain the failure to present in time, and the short delay was not enough to justify an extension.

Because time was not extended, the tribunal found it had no jurisdiction and dismissed all claims without reaching the merits. It also found the claimant had acted unreasonably in bringing and conducting the claims, including making an unparticularised allegation of a wider campaign and failing to attend the hearing, and ordered him to pay the first respondent costs of £3,028.80.