Ms K Taylor v Grampian Health Board st and 1 other — 2025

At the preliminary hearing on 26 November 2025, the tribunal considered whether Ms Taylor had the two years’ continuous service needed for her constructive unfair dismissal claim. It found that her earlier fixed-term engagement ended on 31 March 2024 and her later employment began on 15 April 2024, leaving a definite gap in employment. Applying the continuous employment provisions in the Employment Rights Act 1996, the tribunal held that the gap broke continuity and that the claim could not proceed for want of qualifying service.

The tribunal also refused the claimant’s application to amend her claim. It applied the Selkent principles and looked at the balance of prejudice. It accepted that the claimant had been trying to assist the tribunal, but found that the proposed fresh claim form would effectively require the case to start again. The tribunal noted that several of the proposed claims were not pleaded in the original ET1, some lacked sufficient specification, and the proposed whistleblowing elements linked to her previous employment were time-barred.

In relation to the proposed sex discrimination and victimisation claims, the tribunal recorded that sex discrimination had not been foreshadowed in the original claim and that no adequate reason was given for not including it earlier. It also found that the victimisation allegations did not identify a protected act related to a protected characteristic. The tribunal therefore refused the amendment. The remaining claims of direct disability discrimination, discrimination arising from disability, failure to make reasonable adjustments, and harassment related to disability were allowed to proceed to a hearing. The tribunal noted that disability status was still contested at that stage and that the claimant could refer to additional material as background within the existing pleadings.