S Dorrans v Duracare Ltd T/a Spearhead: 4104627/2020
| Judgment Date | 26 May 2021 |
| Citation | 4104627/2020 |
| Published date | 16 August 2021 |
| Court | Employment Tribunal |
| Subject Matter | Unfair Dismissal |
EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS (SCOTLAND)
Case Number: 4104627/2020 (V)
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Final hearing held by video on 4, 5, 6 and 7 May 2021
Employment Judge M Whitcombe
Tribunal Member N Elliot
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Tribunal Member M McAllister
Stuart Dorrans Claimant
In person
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Duracare Limited t/a Spearhead Respondent
Represented by:
Mr T Muirhead
(Consultant)
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JUDGMENT
The unanimous judgment of the Tribunal is as follows.
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(1) The claimant was unfairly dismissed.
(2) No compensation is awarded for unfair dismissal except for an award
under section 38(2) of the Employment Act 2002 for failure to provide a
statement of particulars of employment. The Tribunal awards 2 weeks’
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pay totalling £720.
Case No.: 4104627/2020 (V) Page 2
(3) The Employment Protection (Recoupment of Benefits) Regulations 1996
do not apply to that award.
(4) The claimant’s dismissal was not because of sexual orientation and the
claim for direct sexual orientation discrimination is dismissed.
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(5) There was no breach of regulation 3 of the Fixed-Term Employees
(Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002. That
claim is also dismissed.
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Case No.: 4104627/2020 (V) Page 3
REASONS
Introduction
1. We will refer to the parties simply as “claimant” and “respondent”. The
claimant was formerly employed by the respondent on fixed term contracts
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from about 7 May 2018 until his dismissal, ostensibly for redundancy, with
effect from 3 July 2020. The respondent is a family business employing about
53 staff. Various members of the Lindberg family occupy key positions in the
company structure. In broad summary, the business provides goods and
services to care homes. The part of the business with which this case is
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concerned was the repair and servicing of specialist mattresses in the air
pressure mattress workshop, generally referred to simply as “the workshop”.
2. The claim was commenced by a claim form received by the Tribunal on 28
August 2020. The claims and issues were clarified and recorded at a
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preliminary hearing for case management conducted by EJ Whitcombe on 28
October 2020. They were discussed and confirmed again at the start of this
hearing. They are set out below.
Assistance given to the claimant
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3. The claimant represented himself and was extremely anxious throughout the
hearing. Breaks were taken when requested or necessary. Previous case
management had set out the issues and given guidance on case preparation
at some length, largely for the claimant’s assistance. He was also encouraged
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to watch other hearings as a member of the public as part of his preparation,
which he did. At points during cross-examination the claimant was offered
assistance with the formulation of his questions. At all times we maintained a
focus on the agreed issues, in order to ensure that all relevant matters were
covered in evidence without straying into irrelevant matters.
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Technical difficulties, lost time and listing
4. As part of prior case management it was decided that this hearing would take
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