Judgment approved by the court for handing down
Mr J Logo v Payone Gmbh and others
Therefore if it is held that a respondent will suffer substantial prejudice if a time limit greater than
three months is applied that would be likely to be a good reason not to extend time and therefore
not to determine the complaint. Yet in this case the Employment Tribunal decided that it could
properly determine the complaints but then refused to extend time in substantial part because of
prejudice that it suggested resulted from the delay. I have concluded that there was no real relevant
prejudice identified by the Employment Tribunal and that its analysis was perverse.
43.
The respondent admitted that the black face incident had occurred and that it constituted
harassment as a result of the effect it had on the claimant. The Employment Tribunal rejected the
suggestion that Miss Ganswindt’s conduct had that purpose and so her limited recollection did not
cause any relevant prejudice to the respondent.
44.
The Employment Tribunal did not expressly identify and take into account the prejudice to
the claimant. There was obvious significant prejudice to the claimant in being denied a remedy for
harassment that the Employment Tribunal found as a fact had occurred. The Employment Tribunal
took account of the claimant’s delay in making a claim. The Employment Tribunal did not decide
that the claimant did not genuinely fear for his job if he brought a claim in the Employment
Tribunal but decided that there was “no evidence that he had any basis for such a fear” and that it
could not “objectively be demonstrated to be a reasonable fear” and so it was not persuaded that
“the claimant has put forward a convincing explanation for the delay”. None of these were
requirements for an extension of time. The determination of the Employment Tribunal on the time
limit issue in respect of the black face incident took account of an irrelevant factor, the supposed
significant prejudice to the respondent, failed to take account of a relevant factor, the prejudice to
the claimant and overall on the analysis of the Employment Tribunal fell outside the very wide
ambit within which different views may reasonably be taken about what is just and equitable.
45.
In respect of the comment at the meal on 19 June 2019 the Employment Tribunal also felt
able to make a clear finding of fact that an extremely offensive comment was made and that it had
the effect of violating the dignity of the claimant. Yet it went on to hold that a significant reason for
© EAT 2025
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