Claimant v Secretary of State for the Home Office

Outcome

Facts

Claimant, an Indian national, applied for Project Support Officer role with Home Office in January 2021. He was interviewed in February 2021 and initially offered the position, being acknowledged as the strongest candidate. However, the offer was withdrawn because his immigration status required sponsorship and the Home Office did not have a sponsorship licence. In December 2021 when a similar vacancy arose, he was not offered the position. He brought disability discrimination claims in June 2022. Over two years later, in July 2024, he sought to amend to add race discrimination claims relating to the 2021 recruitment process. The case has been significantly delayed by the claimant's ill health and multiple postponements.

Decision

The tribunal refused the claimant's application to amend his claim to add race discrimination complaints. Judge Benson found this was a substantive new cause of action, significantly out of time (over a year), with no good explanation for the delay. The claimant had the relevant information from April 2022. Allowing the amendment would cause hardship to the respondent requiring significant additional preparation work and would likely necessitate postponing the May 2025 final hearing on the existing disability claims, now over three years after the events. The balance of hardship favoured refusing the amendment.

Practical note

Legal authorities cited