Mr M Njoku, Solicitor For the v Mr S Peacock, Solicitor — 2018

The claimant presented this second claim on 23 October 2019, alleging direct race discrimination and harassment related to race arising from the respondent's conduct code process and his dismissal on 15 May 2017. The tribunal recorded that the claimant is of Asian origin and that the same dismissal had already been litigated in case 3325545/2017, heard in September 2018 and decided on 26 November 2018, when the discrimination claims were dismissed but unfair dismissal was upheld.

At the preliminary hearing on 18 August 2020, Employment Judge Bedeau held that the direct race discrimination complaint was an abuse of process because it repeated the same claims raised in the earlier proceedings and was barred by cause of action estoppel. The tribunal also held that the harassment related to race complaint could and should have been advanced in the earlier case and was barred by the rule in Henderson v Henderson. The judge was not satisfied that the limited Crown Court transcript extracts advanced by the claimant justified reopening the earlier findings.

The tribunal also said the claims were presented out of time under section 123 of the Equality Act 2010, although that point was described as academic in light of the strike-out decision. It struck out the claims and ordered the claimant to pay the respondent's costs of £2,500, having noted that the respondent's costs incurred to that point were £4,128.74 and taking the claimant's means into account.