EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS (SCOTLAND) Case No: 8000167/2022 Preliminary Hearing by Cloud Video Platform at Edinburgh on May 2023 Employment Judge: M A Macleod v Norman Hearty David Philp Commercials Ltd — 2023

The claimant presented his ET1 on 2 December 2022, saying that he had been unfairly subjected to detriments after making protected disclosures and that he was owed arrears of pay. He later lodged further and better particulars on 22 February 2023 and 13 April 2023 seeking to add disability discrimination claims under sections 13, 15, 19, 20/21, 26 and 27 of the Equality Act 2010, relying on anxiety, depression and borderline personality disorder.

The tribunal held that the proposed additions were a substantial amendment rather than a minor clarification. It noted that the original ET1 did not plead disability discrimination, and that the later particulars introduced new factual allegations, including comments by Mr Hutton, issues about timekeeping, work allocation, and comparators, which had not been pleaded originally.

Applying the amendment authorities and the overriding objective, the tribunal found that the application was out of time, that the claimant knew the facts when he filed the original claim, and that he had not given a good reason for omitting them. It also found that allowing the amendment would require the respondent to carry out significant further investigation and preparation, while the claimant had not produced medical evidence to support his assertion that refusing the amendment would worsen his mental health. The application to amend was refused, and the tribunal did not determine the merits of the underlying claims at this hearing.