The claimant was employed by the respondent as a Grade 4 Buyer in the Purchasing Department, within the Finance Directorate. She made a number of claims including, inter alia, sex discrimination and Victimisation. The allegations arise from a matrix of facts involving concerns over attendance, late notifications of absences. The claimant then fell pregnant and suffered post-natal depression.

All claims were dismissed by the tribunal and are largely fact specific. However, in relation to the sex discrimination claim, the tribunal were not satisfied that the numerous events which the claimant pointed to were part of an 'ongoing situation or a continuing state of affairs' as laid down in Hendricks –v- Metropolitan Police Commissioner (2003) IRLR 96 EWCA. Indeed, the events pointed to by the claimant were spread over a period of over a year and the tribunal held that:

"the different nature and the timing of these allegations were incompatible with the concept of a continuing act."

The failure of the tribunal to collate these incidents into one recognisable situation was undoubtedly based heavily on the credibility of the witness and doubts over the veracity of her evidence concerning each alleged event.

Practical lessons 

In truth, the tribunal here devoted very little time to analysing the Hendricks decision in detail. Perhaps they didn't feel the need to because the credibility of the witness already convinced them that the individual incidents did not occur. But the tribunal's decision here may be misleading and the statement that these "...were in fact a series of separate and discrete acts" perhaps does not accurately reflect more liberal view of 'continuing acts' espoused in Hendricks. It is important to remember that applicants are no longer required to demonstrate a ‘general policy’ or ‘climate of discrimination’; instead there should be focus on the specific incidents alleged.

As ever, full case decisions for NI cases are available on the OITFET website:
http://www.employmenttribunalsni.co.uk/