Dr Christian Mallon v AG Barr plc — 2022

Dr Christian Mallon applied for a Senior Innovation Manager post with AG Barr in August 2021. His application or CV referred to dyspraxia and autism and asked for an oral application. The respondent rejected the application by email on 12 August 2021, and the claimant immediately challenged the process. On 13 August 2021 the respondent apologised for an error in the process, said it had not taken account of his request for a verbal application, and offered a 30-minute online meeting with HR so that his application could be discussed and the requested adjustment provided.

The tribunal held that the reasonable-adjustments claim was presented out of time. It found that the relevant act and notification were on 12 August 2021, so the ordinary three-month limit expired on 11 November 2021. The claimant did not present his ET1 until 6 February 2022 and had not contacted ACAS within the limitation period.

The tribunal refused to extend time as just and equitable. It relied on the claimant's extensive experience of Employment Tribunal litigation, his knowledge of the three-month time limit, the absence of medical evidence that his disabilities caused the delay, and its finding that the most likely explanation for the delay was that he was not keeping track of this claim. It also found, on the balance of probabilities, that he was not genuinely seeking employment with the respondent and that he did not accept the offer of an online interview because that would have been the reasonable adjustment he later said he wanted. The claim was therefore struck out for lack of jurisdiction under Rule 37(1)(a), and the respondent's application for a deposit order was dismissed as moot.