Mr Michael Cotteral v Currys plc — 2023

The claimant brought claims of harassment related to race and disability discrimination by failure to make reasonable adjustments. The respondent accepted that, at the relevant time, the claimant was disabled by reason of lateral epicondylitis and depression. The preliminary hearing considered jurisdiction for the race harassment claim and case management for the remaining claims.

The alleged race harassment concerned comments said to have been made by the claimant's line manager after the claimant bought a BMW in June 2019, with the last alleged comment in October 2019. The Tribunal found this was not a continuing act, as the claimant said there was no repetition after he challenged the manager in October 2019.

The claim was not presented until 10 January 2023, after ACAS early conciliation began on 7 November 2022. The Tribunal found there was no good reason for the delay, noted the claimant had raised the matter in internal processes well before contacting ACAS, and concluded that the age of the events would make it extremely difficult for people to remember what was said and the context. It was not satisfied that it would be just and equitable to extend time, so the race harassment claim was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. The disability discrimination claims were left to proceed to a final hearing.