Ms M Driscoll (Nèe Cobbing) v 1) V & P Global Ltd 2) Mr F Varela
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Judge | Mrs Justice Ellenbogen |
| Subject Matter | Not landmark |
| Court | Employment Appeal Tribunal |
| Published date | 15 July 2021 |
Copyright 2021
Appeal Nos. EA-2020-000876-LA (formerly UKEAT/0009/21/LA)
EA-2020-000877-LA (formerly UKEAT/0010/21/LA)
EMPLOYMENT APPEAL TRIBUNAL
ROLLS BUILDING, 7 ROLLS BUILDINGS, FETTER LANE, LONDON, EC4A 1NL
At the Tribunal
On 19 March 2021
Judgment handed down on 15 July 2021
Before
THE HONOURABLE MRS JUSTICE ELLENBOGEN DBE
(SITTING ALONE)
EA-2020-000876-LA
MS M DRISCOLL (NÉE COBBING) APPELLANT
1) V & P GLOBAL LIMITED 2) MR F VARELA RESPONDENTS
EA-2020-000877-LA
MS M DRISCOLL (NÉE COBBING) APPELLANT
1) V & P GLOBAL LIMITED 2) MR F VARELA RESPONDENTS
JUDGMENT
EA-2020-000876-LA
EA-2020-000877-LA
APPEARANCES
For the Appellant MR JEREMY LEWIS
(of Counsel)
Instructed by:
Branch Austin LLP
32 St James’s Street
London
SW1A 1HD
For the Respondents MR MARK GREAVES
(of Counsel)
Instructed by:
Kingsley Napley LLP
Knights Quarter
14 St John’s Lane
Clerkenwell
London
EC1M 4AJ
EA-2020-000876-LA
EA-2020-000877-LA
SUMMARY
HARASSMENT
PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE
Permission to amend the notice of appeal was granted. The appeals, as amended, were allowed
in part.
The EAT’s earlier decision in Timothy James Consulting Ltd v Wilton [2015] IRLR 368 had
been decided per incuriam European Directives and domestic caselaw, in the light of which it
was ‘manifestly wrong’. In so far as Wilton had decided that a constructive dismissal could not
itself amount to an act of unlawful harassment within the meaning of section 26 of the Equality
Act 2010, it would not be followed.
A constructive dismissal is, in principle, capable of constituting an act of harassment, within the
meaning of section 26 of the Equality Act 2010. Accordingly, the Claimant’s claim of harassment
constituted in her alleged constructive dismissal (which had been struck out by the ET in reliance
upon Wilton and certain obiter dicta in Urso v Department of Work and Pensions [2017] IRLR
304, EAT) would be reinstated, with consequential amendments made to the list of issues to be
determined by the ET at the full merits hearing.
The ET ought to have permitted an amendment to the claim form, to include an additional
allegation of harassment, which was based upon facts already pleaded. Permission to re-amend
the particulars of claim, and to make associated amendments to the list of issues, was granted.
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