Miss J Joseph v And Sodexo Limited Held by CVP on 8 November 2021 — 2022

Miss J Joseph presented claims alleging unfair dismissal and discrimination because of race and/or disability after employment by Sodexo Limited as a catering tutor from 1 May 2019 to 14 August 2020. This judgment was a preliminary hearing to decide whether she was disabled within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010 and whether she should be allowed to amend her claim to add a reasonable adjustments allegation about Dragon Dictation software on a laptop rather than the office computer.

The tribunal accepted the claimant's evidence that she had dyslexia, had been diagnosed in 1998, and had previously received adjustments in education. It found that during her employment the impairment had a long-term effect and a substantial adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities. In reaching that conclusion, the tribunal accepted that she might need to read instructions several times, could not rely on her writing to communicate accurately, did not always have assistance available, and experienced practical difficulty at work because interruptions made it harder for her to complete tasks.

The amendment application was refused. Applying Chandhok v Tirkey, Selkent Bus Co Ltd v Moore, and Matuszowicz v Kingston upon Hull, the tribunal held that the proposed reasonable adjustments claim was not set out, even impliedly, in the original ET1, was not a mere relabelling exercise, would require wider enquiries and possibly further witnesses, and was substantially out of time. The claimant gave no evidence explaining why it would be just and equitable to extend time, so permission to amend was refused.