Miss R Somerville v Represented by:10 Mr A Drummond - Lay Representative Govan Housing Association — 2024

Miss R Somerville presented an ET1 on 15 November 2023 bringing unfair dismissal and breach of contract claims arising from her dismissal. At the hearing on 10 June 2024, Mr Drummond confirmed that both claims were withdrawn, and the tribunal dismissed them under Rule 52. No merits finding was made on either claim.

The hearing then focused on the claimant's application, sent by email on 20 March 2024, to amend her claim to add 16 allegations of disability discrimination. The tribunal applied the Selkent approach, including the nature of the amendment, time limits, and the timing and manner of the application. It noted that the original ET1 did not tick disability discrimination, did not allege that the claimant was disabled, and was directed to the circumstances of dismissal rather than discrimination.

The tribunal held that only allegation 14, which said that the dismissal itself amounted to disability discrimination, was sufficiently connected to the claim already pleaded. The other 15 allegations were new causes of action, brought out of time, and were set out in vague and unspecific terms, with many lacking dates, detail, or identification of the managers involved. It accepted that the claimant was a party litigant, but said that she was still in a position to identify the factual basis of the allegations in her ET1, and that the amendment as drafted did not provide fair notice to the respondent.

Balancing prejudice and hardship, the tribunal allowed the amendment only for allegation 14 and refused the remainder. It then ordered the claimant to clarify the legal basis of the disability discrimination case, including whether she relied on direct discrimination, discrimination arising from disability, or reasonable adjustments, and ordered the respondent to lodge revised grounds of resistance after that specification was provided. No remedy was awarded at this stage.