Ms L Brown (in person) For the v Mr P Sands (Solicitor) — 2024

This was a Public Preliminary Hearing before Employment Judge K J Palmer sitting alone. The Tribunal dealt with two matters: a contract/breach of contract claim in the Claimant's home-made ET1, and a direct sex discrimination claim said to arise from non-payment of a festival allowance when the Claimant was seconded to festival work in 2021. A separate equal pay claim remained to be answered by the Respondent and was listed for a later three-day full merits hearing; it was not determined at this hearing.

On the contract claim, the Tribunal accepted that the real complaint was that the Claimant said she should be treated as employed on a 2007 URTU contract rather than a 2009 contract, following a TUPE transfer in 2012. The Tribunal found this was not a claim for a statement of employment particulars under s.11 ERA 1996. Because the Claimant remained employed, the Tribunal held it had no jurisdiction under the Employment Tribunal's Extension of Jurisdiction (England and Wales) Order 1994 to hear a breach of contract claim and dismissed it.

On the discrimination claim, the Tribunal found the act complained of was the non-payment of a festival allowance in or about September/October 2021. It held the claim was brought outside the three-month time limit in s.123 Equality Act 2010. Applying the just and equitable discretion, and referring to Robertson v Bexley Community Centre t/a Leisure Link [2003] IRLR 434, the Tribunal held it was not just and equitable to extend time. It noted the Claimant said she only realised the possibility of a sex discrimination claim on 1 October 2022, but she still did not present her claim until 6 April 2023.

The Tribunal also noted that the Claimant had had some assistance from a Union representative, ACAS and a legal helpline, and that grievance steps did not stop the statutory limitation clock. The sex discrimination claim was therefore dismissed as out of time. The remaining equal pay issue, described as a like-work comparison with Mark Ellul concerning a night-shift supervisor allowance and basic pay, was left to proceed to a later merits hearing.