Claimant v Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited

Outcome

Facts

Mr Loverseed was employed by Virgin Atlantic as a pilot. He brought a claim in December 2020 for unfair dismissal and age discrimination arising from redundancies during Covid. He was re-employed as Senior First Officer in February 2022. He failed Command Assessment Process interviews in March and October 2023 for promotion to Captain. He believed he was victimised for having brought the original claim. He was represented by solicitors Farrer & Co and leading counsel throughout the original proceedings until December 2023. He did not apply to amend his original claim to include the victimisation complaints until June 2024, by which time the list of issues had been finalised and the case was ready for a 45-day hearing. His application to amend was refused and he issued fresh proceedings in July 2024, 8 months out of time.

Decision

The tribunal struck out Mr Loverseed's claim on two grounds. First, it was an abuse of process under Henderson v Henderson because he knew about the potential victimisation claim, had access to excellent legal advice, knew others were bringing similar claims, and failed to apply to amend his original claim in good time, waiting until three months after the list of issues was finalised. Second, he had no reasonable prospect of successfully arguing it would be just and equitable to extend time given the significant delay, his knowledge of the claim, his access to legal advice, and the abuse of process in bringing a fresh claim.

Practical note

Legal authorities cited