Claimant v The Co-operative Group Limited

The tribunal found the respondent did not treat the claimant less favourably than hypothetical non-disabled comparators by failing to offer her interviews for four roles. The decisions not to interview were based on the claimant's CV not clearly demonstrating the technical skills required (particularly Excel proficiency and SAP experience), not because she was autistic. Her CV was generic and not tailored to each role's specific requirements.

The tribunal concluded the respondent did not have a PCP of providing no opportunity for follow-up discussion after the redundancy announcement, as the claimant was offered and attended one-to-one meetings with her consultation manager. Additionally, the respondent did not know and could not reasonably have been expected to know the claimant was disabled at the time of the redundancy announcement (5 June 2024), as she only disclosed her autism diagnosis in her CV submitted on 26 June 2024.

While the tribunal accepted there was a PCP that interviewees should provide examples of relevant experience within the last two years, the respondent did not apply this PCP to the claimant. The hiring manager for the Space Insight Analyst role accepted the claimant's older examples and described them as 'great examples from the past' without requesting more recent ones.