The Claimant was made redundant which she claimed was actually unfair dismissal as a result of her making protected disclosures and she alleged that her dismissal constituted a detriment. She applied for interim relief which was granted. The interim relief application meant that she did not need an early conciliation number. Her unfair dismissal/detriment claim proceeded in the ET but the Respondent argued that her detriment claim should be rejected because the interim relief ECN exemption did not apply to the detriment claim. The ET dismissed that application, the Respondent appealed to the EAT which also dismissed the appeal (but on different grounds) and the Respondent appealed to the Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal. The EAT was wrong to find that the ET had jurisdiction to entertain the detriment claim as advanced in the original claim form, but that the ET nevertheless had jurisdiction to grant permission to amend to allow the Claimant to pursue the identical claim, and that in the particular circumstances of this case it was entitled to do so. The Claimant was thus entitled to pursue the detriment claim.