Mr O Segal, KC For the v Respondent — 2025

The claimant, a pilot employed by the respondent, brought a victimisation claim concerning failed Captaincy interviews and the related grievance and appeal process. The protected act relied on was the issue of previous proceedings, which included a complaint of age discrimination. By the preliminary hearing, several alleged detriments were no longer pursued, leaving matters from March to October 2023.

The tribunal found that the claimant knew about the potential victimisation claim during the earlier proceedings, had access to legal advice, and could have applied to amend those proceedings in good time. It held that issuing fresh proceedings in July 2024, after an unsuccessful late amendment application and after the claim was significantly out of time, was an abuse of process.

The tribunal also held that the last remaining alleged detriment was on 6 October 2023 and that the claim issued on 16 July 2024 was about six months late. Taking the claim at its highest, it found the claimant had no reasonable prospect of persuading a tribunal that it would be just and equitable to extend time, and struck out the claim on that ground also.