P Ibinson v Tyne & Wear Passenger Transport Executive t/a Nexus — 2025

This was a reserved judgment following a preliminary hearing before Employment Judge Gowland on 9 January 2025. The Respondent applied under Rule 38 of the Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024 to strike out parts of the Claimant's victimisation complaint (concerning three remaining detriments relating to employment references), and in the alternative sought a deposit order. The Judge found that the matters in dispute (the alleged unfair application of a reference policy, causation of financial loss, and whether the acts amounted to a continuing act for the purposes of s.123 Equality Act 2010) involved core factual conflicts that required determination at a final hearing, and that a mini trial of the facts was to be avoided.

The Judge was not satisfied that the claim was scandalous or vexatious, noting that the previous claims did not relate to the same subject matter, and concluded that the Claimant did not have no reasonable prospect of establishing her claim. The strike out application was therefore dismissed. On the alternative deposit application, the Judge found that the Claimant had little reasonable prospect of success in relation to detriments two and three (where references had been provided relatively quickly) and ordered a deposit of £50 in respect of each, totalling £100. The deposit application in relation to detriment four was refused, as the 14-day delay required factual determination. The matter was listed for a further case management hearing on 3 April 2025.