Written Submissions For the v - Written Submissions — 2019

The claimant's ET1, lodged on 25 February 2019, said she had been unfairly and wrongfully dismissed, was owed holiday pay, and sought compensation for not being provided particulars of employment. The tribunal recorded that the dismissal date was 7 September 2018, the ACAS early conciliation period ran from 30 November 2018 to 13 January 2019, and the limitation date was 13 February 2019. A first claim was lodged on 11 February 2019 but rejected on 20 February because the ACAS EC number on the form was incorrect; the corrected claim, case 1300866/19, was then lodged on 25 February 2019.

In deciding whether time could be extended, the Employment Judge considered Adams v British Telecommunications plc and North East London NHS Foundation Trust v Zhou, together with the Dedman principle and Walls Meat v Khan. The judge held that the focus was on whether it was reasonably practicable to present the second claim in time, and that the claimant bore the burden of showing why the error occurred and why the corrected claim was not lodged sooner. The tribunal noted that the solicitors had a copy of the ACAS certificate, that there was no witness evidence, and that no explanation was given for the incorrect number or for the five-day delay between rejection and resubmission.

The tribunal found that the claimant had not discharged the burden under the reasonable practicability test and that the second claim was not presented within a reasonable time after the defect was identified. It held that the Dedman principle applied to the solicitors' error, that the first claim had been correctly rejected, and that all claims were therefore dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.