Ms M Panayiotou v Circle Wood Ltd — 2022

The tribunal heard the respondent’s strike-out application on 8 July 2022 and gave judgment orally, with written reasons later provided. No witness evidence was heard. The claimant confirmed that the disability she relied on was her mother’s alleged disability only, and the alleged unfavourable treatment was said to be refusal of flexible working requests and termination of employment.

The judge set out the strike-out test under rule 37 of the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure and noted the high threshold for striking out discrimination claims, referring to Anyanwu and Another v South Bank Student Union. The claimant had been ordered to provide further information, and the judge found there was no application to amend the claim and no factual basis for a different equality claim such as direct discrimination or harassment.

On the substance of section 15 Equality Act 2010, the tribunal held that the protected person must be the claimant herself. The judge relied on the wording of section 15, including the reference to “disabled person (B)” and the knowledge requirement in section 15(2), and concluded that the provision does not cover unfavourable treatment said to arise from someone else’s disability, even where the claimant is that person’s carer.

Because the claimant’s case depended only on her mother’s alleged disability, the tribunal held that the section 15 claim had no reasonable prospects of success and struck it out. The judgment stated that this claim was dealt with separately from the other complaints in the claim, which were not affected by this decision.