Ms P Angelova v Greencore Food To Go Limited — 2024

Ms Angelova presented her claim on 12 June 2024 and ticked allegations of discrimination on the grounds of race and disability. The narrative said the respondent had caused her injury and had required her to continue in her current physical role rather than move to lighter duties. The respondent did not present a response by the deadline, but on 16 August 2024 its solicitors applied for an extension of time and filed a draft response. The claimant opposed that application and asked for a judgment to be issued under Rule 21. At the preliminary hearing on 27 September 2024, Employment Judge Dunlop considered the extension application, referring to Rule 20 of the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure 2013, the overriding objective in Rule 2, and the guidance in Kwik Save v Swain and Thorney Golf Centre Ltd v Reed.

The judge found that the respondent and its solicitors acted exceptionally quickly after receiving the 'response not received' letter, and that there had been no delay to the progress of the proceedings. The merits of the defence were difficult to assess because the claim was not fully clarified, but the judge considered that there were significant difficulties with parts of the claim and that the balance of prejudice overwhelmingly favoured the respondent. The claimant's difficulty attending hearings because of physical pain was acknowledged, but it was not prejudice caused by the late response. Time was extended, the respondent was allowed to participate, and no substantive findings were made on the race or disability allegations.