Case 4100441/2020 · Employment Tribunal
Member Ms Lindsay Grime Tribunal Member Mr Adrian Atkinson Conor Adamson v Ltd (In Liquidation) — 2020
- Case reference
- 4100441/2020
- Decision date
- 26 May 2020
- Jurisdiction
- Scotland
- Judge
- Employment Judge J Young Tribunal
- Venue
- Edinburgh
- Panel members
- Ms Lindsay Grime, Mr Adrian Atkinson
Parties
2 namedClaimant
Member Ms Lindsay Grime Tribunal Member Mr Adrian Atkinson Conor Adamson
Respondent
Key findings
Tribunal's reasoningThe claimant was disabled by reason of Adult ADHD and ASD, and the respondent admitted disability for the relevant period. Several alleged incidents were not accepted as made out or as related to disability, including the alleged March/April 2019 comment, the mid-June 2019 argument about overtime, and the allegation that unsuitable rota and budget tasks were deliberately allocated to the claimant.
The tribunal found that the claimant had requested face-to-face communication because his condition could affect his interpretation of text-based messages, but communication with Courtney Riley deteriorated and the claimant was ignored. It also found that Courtney Riley's friends mocked the claimant using disability-related abuse in Courtney Riley's presence, that Courtney Riley laughed and did not intervene, and that Courtney Riley must have told them about the claimant's disability.
The tribunal found the claimant's dismissal on 11 October 2019 was unwanted conduct related to disability. It considered the workplace context, the claimant's ADHD-related impulsivity, the commonplace use of bad language at Brae House, and Courtney Riley's role in reporting the matter. It also found that leaving the claimant's handwritten note about his disability on the photocopier was inadvertent but nevertheless unwanted conduct that violated dignity and created a humiliating environment.
On time limits, the tribunal found a continuing course of harassment extending beyond 26 September 2019, linked particularly through Courtney Riley's involvement and the dismissal process. The tribunal awarded injury to feelings only, placing the cumulative effect in the middle Vento band and awarding £9,500.
Claims and outcomes
5 findings recordedThis case has mixed outcomes under at least one legal claim type. A tribunal can uphold some allegations and dismiss others under the same legal head, so rows below may represent separate issues or allegation groups from the judgment.
| Claim type | Issue or finding | Outcome | Protected characteristic | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harassment | The tribunal upheld the section 26 Equality Act 2010 harassment complaint in relation to disability, including findings about communication/being ignored, mocking by Courtney Riley's friends in his presence, dismissal, and the disability note left on the photocopier. | Upheld | Disability | £9,500 |
| Disability discrimination | The claimant pursued discrimination arising from disability under section 15 Equality Act 2010 in relation to ADHD. The tribunal rejected or did not find made out several alleged incidents under section 15, but after finding the dismissal made out as harassment under section 26, it stated it was not necessary to further consider whether it was also discriminatory under section 15. | Other | Disability | — |
| Disability discrimination | The claimant withdrew the direct disability discrimination claim under section 13 Equality Act 2010 and the failure to make reasonable adjustments claim under sections 20/21 Equality Act 2010. | Withdrawn | Disability | — |
| Victimisation | The claimant withdrew the victimisation claim under section 27 Equality Act 2010. | Withdrawn | — | — |
| Unlawful deduction from wages | The claimant withdrew the unlawful deduction from wages claims under section 13 Employment Rights Act 1996, which had included sick pay and holiday pay issues. |
Remedy
Monetary award- Total award
- £9,500
- across all upheld claims
Legal tests applied
14 references- section 26 Equality Act 2010
- section 15 Equality Act 2010
- section 123 Equality Act 2010
- Richmond Pharmacology v Dhaliwal
- English v Thomas Sanderson Blinds
- City of York v Grossett
- Baldeh v Churches Housing Association of Dudley and District
- Pemberton v Inwood
- Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust v Aslam
- Williams v Trustees of Swansea University Pension and Assurance Scheme
- Pnaiser v NHS England
- Urso v Department of Work and Pensions
- Aziz v FDA
- Vento
Official outcome judgment PDF
Gov.uk primary recordThe official judgment PDF on gov.uk contains the tribunal's outcome, reasoning, and any remedy details. Where this page does not yet show extracted outcomes for every claim, use the PDF as the authoritative source.
Published on gov.uk under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
How we got this data
Case essentials (reference, date, judge, venue, country, claim categories) are extracted from the structured metadata gov.uk publishes alongside each decision. Parties and monetary figures are extracted from the judgment PDF text. Key findings and per-claim outcomes require a second extraction pass that is not yet complete for this case — until then, the primary source linked above is the authoritative record. See full methodology.
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