Ms Natasha Witele v London Borough of Hillingdon — 2023

The hearing was an open preliminary hearing before Employment Judge Alliott sitting alone. The claimant had worked for the respondent from 19 December 2014 as a Night Residential Support Worker and accepted that she resigned with immediate effect on 11 May 2020. The claim was presented on 6 August 2021, so the tribunal treated most complaints as being about one year out of time. It also corrected some dates in the claim form, including the new address point and the reference to contact about returning to work.

On the race discrimination issues, the tribunal applied the just and equitable extension test. It found the claimant had access to union advice before she resigned, knew she was subject to a disciplinary process, and later discovered the tribunal time limit when she researched the position and spoke to the Citizens Advice Bureau. For that reason it held that her ignorance of the time limit was not reasonable and that the delay was substantial. The tribunal therefore refused to extend time for all race discrimination complaints except one.

The exception was the allegation that the respondent decided not to give the claimant a reference. The tribunal found that the relevant letter was dated 11 August 2020 but had been sent to her previous address, and on the evidence before it she may not have discovered the decision until around June 2021. For that single allegation the tribunal held it was just and equitable to extend time. It also refused to strike the allegation out, saying it was not a clear case and that the claimant relied on a white British comparator, a manager called Lee, who she said had received a reference despite being dismissed for gross misconduct.

The tribunal separately held that claims of detriment/dismissal for health and safety reasons were not out of time because it was reasonably practicable to present them within three months, and it dismissed those claims for lack of jurisdiction. The case was listed to continue to a final hearing on the remaining race discrimination reference allegation, with remedy to be determined only if the claimant succeeded on that claim.