Claimant v Nissan Motor (Manufacturing) UK Limited
Outcome
Individual claims
Claim struck out for non-compliance with tribunal orders and because it had no reasonable prospect of success. The last alleged act of direct race discrimination was October 2022, significantly before the claim was filed in July 2023. The tribunal found the claim was out of time under s123 Equality Act 2010 and the claimant had no reasonable prospect of showing it would be just and equitable to extend time.
Claim struck out for non-compliance with tribunal orders and because it had no reasonable prospect of success. The last alleged act of harassment related to nationality was Spring 2022. The tribunal found this was out of time and the claimant had no reasonable prospect of convincing the tribunal to extend time on just and equitable grounds.
Facts
The claimant worked as an agency worker for Nissan from November 2021 to 28 March 2023, resigning after a period of sick leave from 3 February 2023. She brought claims of direct race discrimination and harassment related to nationality, with the last alleged acts occurring in October 2022 and Spring 2022 respectively. She started ACAS early conciliation on 4 May 2023 and filed her claim on 16 July 2023. The claimant failed to comply with multiple tribunal orders to provide a witness statement, first ordered for 4 November 2024, then extended to 31 January 2025, stating she was too unwell to write it.
Decision
The tribunal struck out all claims on two grounds: (1) the claimant's repeated failure to comply with tribunal orders to provide a witness statement, despite being given multiple opportunities, making a fair trial no longer possible; and (2) the claims had no reasonable prospect of success because they were significantly out of time (the last acts being in October 2022 and Spring 2022) and the claimant had no reasonable prospect of showing it would be just and equitable to extend time. The judge found this was one of the exceptional cases where strike out was appropriate.
Practical note
Even in discrimination cases where strike out should be rare, persistent non-compliance with tribunal orders combined with claims being clearly out of time with no reasonable prospect of a just and equitable extension can justify strike out as an exceptional measure.
Legal authorities cited
Statutes
Case details
- Case number
- 3308128/2023
- Decision date
- 7 May 2025
- Hearing type
- strike out
- Hearing days
- 1
- Classification
- procedural
Respondent
- Sector
- manufacturing
- Represented
- Yes
- Rep type
- barrister
Employment details
- Service
- 1 years
Claimant representation
- Represented
- No