In person assisted by McKenzie Friend Ms A Sutton For the v Mr Kennedy - Counsel — 2022

This was a preliminary hearing on limitation and disability status, not a merits judgment. The tribunal accepted the claimant's evidence, supported by GP letters, that from about August 2019 she was suffering significant mental ill-health and was unable to draft and submit an ET1 within the ordinary time limits. It held that for the notice pay, unpaid wages and unpaid holiday pay claims it was not reasonably practicable to present them in time, and that they were issued within a reasonable further period after allowing for ACAS early conciliation.

For the discrimination claim, the tribunal applied the just and equitable test under the Equality Act 2010 and extended time. It noted the medical evidence about anxiety, depression, PTSD and treatment, while also recording that the claimant had been able to contact ACAS in 2019 and later make a job application in December 2020. The tribunal nevertheless accepted that her mental illness explained the delay in bringing the tribunal claim and held that the claims were issued in time.

The tribunal then heard evidence on disability and found that, during the period of employment from 9 April to 19 June 2019, the claimant had physical and mental impairments for the purposes of section 6 Equality Act 2010. It accepted evidence of longstanding hypermobility, knee and back problems, and mental health difficulties including anxiety, depression and PTSD, and found that these affected day-to-day activities such as standing, walking, lifting, communicating, concentrating and shopping. Whether there was a continuing act of discrimination, including the post-termination reference complaint in December 2020, was left for a further preliminary hearing. No liability findings on the underlying claims and no monetary award were made in this decision.