Mr A Tayel v Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust and 3 others — 2019

Mr A Tayel brought victimisation claims under s.27 Equality Act 2010 against Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust, Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust, West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The tribunal recorded that his earlier race-discrimination proceedings had been settled on 22 February 2012 for £30,000. It held that allegations predating that settlement could not be relitigated and were struck out as an abuse of process; the related contention that the settlement agreement was void because of deception or misrepresentation was rejected as outside the tribunal's jurisdiction and without reasonable prospect.

The tribunal then held that the allegations said to arise in 2012-2013 were grossly out of time. It found that the claimant knew the relevant facts by 2013, that there was no continuing act across the gap to 2017, and that he had not shown a basis for a just and equitable extension. Those historic complaints included refusal to provide a contract, alleged failures to investigate complaints, and associated disclosure and information complaints.

The 2017 allegations were divided between claims held out of time and claims held to have no reasonable prospect. The tribunal dismissed the February 2017 shortlisting complaint, the 31 January 2017 unsuccessful interview complaint, the April 2017 laboratory-visit complaint, and the March 2017 request for information as out of time. It struck out or dismissed the remaining in-time feedback and subject access complaints because West Suffolk was not the relevant body for some requests, some requests had been sent to the wrong organisation or person, and the anonymous shortlisting evidence did not support a victimisation link. The tribunal said that, if the five in-time allegations had not been dismissed, it would have ordered a £500 deposit for each of them. No substantive monetary award was made.