(1) Ms Sonica Sharma (2) Ms Esther Izundu (3) Mr Agni Singh v Competition and Markets Authority — 2022

The case concerned the Competition and Markets Authority's early 2021 Performance Related Pay award, which was based on 2019/20 performance ratings. Employees graded in the top two performance bands received awards, while those in the remaining three bands received none. The three claimants were all BAME and said that linking the award to those ratings, and limiting payment to the top two grades, amounted to indirect race discrimination.

This hearing was confined to jurisdiction and time-limit issues. The tribunal held that all three claimants had properly presented claims, even though the ET1 form named only Ms Sharma, because the supporting material and later consolidation showed that Ms Izundu and Mr Singh were included in the claim presentation. It also held that the relevant act date for limitation purposes was 27 January 2021, when the pay settlement was imposed, not 26 February 2021 when the payments were made. The tribunal rejected the argument that there had been a continuing act after 27 January 2021.

On that basis, the claims were outside the primary three-month limitation period, and ACAS early conciliation started too late to preserve time. However, the tribunal decided that it was just and equitable to extend time. It placed weight on the statistical material about BAME performance ratings, which was not made available to the claimants until 30 April 2021, meaning they and their union were not in a position to assess the indirect discrimination case earlier. It also found no evidence of prejudice to the respondent and noted that the PCS had initially worked on the wrong limitation date. The indirect race discrimination complaints were therefore allowed to proceed to a final hearing, listed for four days starting on 20 February 2024.