Mr R Peposhi v GoCrisis Ltd and 1 other — 2023

The claim form presented on 4 October 2022 complained of unfair dismissal and disability discrimination. At the final hearing on 27 and 28 September 2023, the Tribunal did not reach the merits of those claims. It accepted that the Claimant was disabled by complete hearing loss in his left ear, but the judgment records no liability finding on unfair dismissal or disability discrimination and no financial award.

The Tribunal refused the Claimant's application for an anonymity order. It held that he had not shown clear and cogent grounds to displace the ordinary principle of open justice, and that neither he nor his brother had a reasonable expectation of privacy in relation to the proceedings. The Tribunal also rejected the Claimant's reliance on disability as a reason for anonymity, finding no evidential basis to depart from publication of his name.

The Tribunal refused the Claimant's late application to amend the ET1 to add a whistleblowing complaint. It treated the proposed amendment as a substantive new cause of action, found it significantly out of time, and noted that the Claimant could not identify the legal obligations said to underpin the alleged disclosures. It also considered the balance of prejudice to lie with the First Respondent because permitting the amendment would have required further preparation and would have postponed the final hearing.

The Tribunal also refused the Claimant's application for a postponement. Applying the Overriding Objective, the Presidential Guidance and the Equal Treatment Bench Book, it found no persuasive evidence that his disability made him unable to participate effectively by telephone or to understand oral explanations. After that ruling, the Claimant lost his CVP connection and did not rejoin the hearing. The Tribunal therefore postponed the final hearing on its own motion and indicated that an unless order would be issued requiring a written explanation and supporting evidence before the case could be relisted.