Claimant v Crown Office (The Scottish Ministers) — 2020

The claimant lodged an ET1 on 27 November 2019 alleging unfair dismissal and race discrimination. The claim was initially rejected because no early conciliation exemption applied, but the claimant then provided a valid EC certificate on 16 December 2019. The Grounds of Claim were not filed with the ET1 and were later provided on 15 March 2020, after the respondent had already received the accepted ET1.

On issue A, the tribunal held there was no rule or time limit preventing the Grounds of Claim from being accepted and, applying Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy v Parry and Another, allowed the claim to stand with further particulars if needed. On issue B, it held the race discrimination claim was 9 days out of time under s.123 Equality Act 2010, but it was just and equitable to extend time because the claimant acted promptly once the omission was discovered, contacted ACAS, and corrected the error shortly afterwards. The tribunal also said the allegations were capable of amounting to a continuing act, but that question would need to be tested at the final hearing.

The Grounds of Claim also introduced disability discrimination allegations that were not ticked on the ET1. The tribunal treated this as an amendment, applied Selkent Bus Co Ltd v Moore, and allowed the disability discrimination claim and the failure to make reasonable adjustments claim to proceed. It found no delay or prejudice sufficient to justify refusing the amendment. The unfair dismissal claim had already been dismissed upon withdrawal at the earlier preliminary hearing, and the amended Grounds of Claim filed on 24 April 2020 were not considered in this decision.