Ms C Connolly-Brown v Edinburgh Council . — 2023

Ms C Connolly-Brown presented a claim in May 2022 alleging unfair constructive dismissal and disability discrimination. After repeated case management orders and an unless order, Employment Judge McFatridge heard the respondent's strike-out application at an open preliminary hearing on 16 May 2023. No evidence was led.

The tribunal struck out the section 13 direct disability discrimination claim because the pleadings did not identify factual incidents amounting to less favourable treatment by reason of disability and did not give the respondent fair notice of the case to meet. It also struck out the constructive unfair dismissal claim, holding that no repudiatory breach was properly pleaded and that the ET1 described resignation after the claimant's health had deteriorated rather than resignation in response to a pleaded contractual breach.

On reasonable adjustments, the tribunal held that only the allegation relating to mental health training had just and only just identified a PCP and therefore could proceed. The claims about a Wellness Action Plan/Support Plan, a quiet place to work and clarity on work responsibilities were struck out for lack of a pleaded PCP, while the claims about noise cancelling headphones and a specialist chair were treated as time-barred because early conciliation was started more than three months after the relevant adjustments had been implemented. The remaining section 15 discrimination arising from disability claim and the mental health training reasonable-adjustments claim were left to proceed to a final hearing.