Claimant v P & E Care Limited

The claim for unlawful deduction of wages in the First Claim (6011302/2024) was not the subject of any strike-out application and will proceed to a hearing on liability and remedy in due course.

The claimant lacked the requisite two-year qualifying period under s.108 Employment Rights Act 1996. Her continuous employment was one year, eleven months and four days (or eleven days with statutory notice extension), falling short by 26 days (or 19 days). The tribunal had no jurisdiction to entertain the claim.

The entire Second Claim (6019719/2024) was struck out as an abuse of process under Rule 38(1)(b). The claimant confirmed in evidence that all nine allegations of pregnancy/maternity discrimination pre-dated her First Claim filed 10 September 2024. She deliberately chose to limit the First Claim to wages, waiting to see if her internal appeal would succeed before bringing discrimination claims. This constituted holding claims in reserve, contrary to the Henderson v Henderson principle requiring parties to bring forward their whole case.

Struck out as part of the entire Second Claim on abuse of process grounds. The claimant had complete knowledge of all allegations when filing the First Claim but deliberately withheld them, waiting to see if her internal appeal would succeed. This tactical fragmentation of litigation deprived the tribunal of the opportunity to case manage the claims efficiently.

Struck out as part of the entire Second Claim on abuse of process grounds under Rule 38(1)(b). The dismissal on 7 September 2024 occurred three days before the First Claim was filed, yet the claimant chose not to include it. She later confirmed she was waiting to see if her internal appeal would succeed before pursuing this claim. This constituted an abuse of the tribunal's process.