In person For the v Mr Halpin, Solicitor — 2022

The claimant, Dr Christian Mallon, brought a disability discrimination claim alleging a failure to make reasonable adjustments in relation to job applications made between November 2007 and April 2022. He said he had disabilities of autism, dyspraxia and ADHD, and that he needed the respondent to provide an oral application process, together with a written breakdown of the essential criteria for each role, rather than requiring a written application alone.

The tribunal held that only the final application was in time. It found that the claim was presented on 17 April 2022, that the last application was in January 2022, and that the rejection email was sent on 14 March 2022. Earlier applications were out of time and were separate acts, not part of a continuing act.

On the merits, the tribunal rejected the first alleged PCP, namely that the respondent required a written application without providing a written breakdown of essential criteria. It found the adverts in the respondent’s highly technical recruitment sector did set out essential and desirable requirements sufficiently for applicants to assess whether they were a match for the role. It accepted that the second PCP existed, namely not offering an oral initial discussion to discuss the essential criteria and whether the applicant met them.

The tribunal nevertheless found that the second PCP did not place the claimant at a substantial disadvantage compared with a non-disabled person. It accepted that he had difficulty expressing himself in writing, but found his CV was already very detailed, professionally presented, and showed that he was fundamentally mismatched to many of the roles he applied for. The tribunal found there was no evidence that an oral discussion would have added information not already contained in his CV, and noted that the respondent had offered feedback after rejection. The claim was therefore dismissed as not well founded.