Miss K Contell v Northampton School For Girls — 2025

The claimant's original ET1, presented on 13 May 2024, pleaded unfair dismissal and detriment for making a protected disclosure. At a preliminary hearing on 4 December 2024 she was directed to make any amendment application by 18 December 2024. Her later application, made on 16 January 2025, sought to add direct and indirect disability discrimination, discrimination arising from disability, failure to make reasonable adjustments and harassment related to disability, said to arise from depression.

The tribunal applied the Selkent discretion, with reference to Rule 30 of the Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024, Vaughan v Modality Partnership, Ladbrokes Racing Ltd v Traynor, and Abercrombie v Aga Rangemaster Ltd. It found nothing in the ET1 or the attached letter that identified a discrimination complaint, rejected the submission that the disability box on the form and the respondent's awareness of stress or anxiety put it on notice of such a claim, and held that the proposed amendment was a new cause of action based largely on new pleaded facts from May 2022 onward.

The tribunal also found that the application was significantly out of time and that no compelling explanation had been given for the delay. It accepted the respondent's evidence that allowing the amendment would require a preliminary issue on disability, further investigation, additional witnesses and a longer hearing, with possible prejudice to the cogency of evidence. Balancing the hardship to each side and the overriding objective, the tribunal refused leave to amend; no substantive disability discrimination claim was admitted for determination.