In person For the v Mr D Brown – Counsel — 2023

The claimant, Mr Ahmed Iman, sought to bring an unfair dismissal claim against Community Integrated Care. His effective date of termination was 23 May 2022 and he attempted to present the claim on 22 August 2022. The ET1 did not include an ACAS early conciliation certificate number and instead ticked the box for an unfair dismissal claim containing an application for interim relief, although the claimant accepted that no such interim relief application had been made. The tribunal had rejected the claim on 1 September 2022.

At the preliminary hearing the tribunal treated the issue as an application for reconsideration of that rejection. It found, applying Pryce v Baxterstorey Limited, that the claim had never been validly presented. The later provision of an ACAS certificate after early conciliation on 12 to 14 September 2022 did not amount to re-presentation of a completed ET1, and the tribunal had no jurisdiction or discretion to waive the statutory early conciliation requirement.

The tribunal also considered time limitation in the alternative. It found that, if jurisdiction had existed, it was reasonably practicable for the claimant to present a valid claim in time. The claimant knew of the three-month time limit, submitted the original ET1 on the last day, had access to online information, and accepted that the ET1 form directed him to contact ACAS if unclear about early conciliation. The tribunal found that any alleged delay in the employer's appeal process did not explain the failure to comply with early conciliation.

The tribunal further found that, even if it had not been reasonably practicable to present the claim in time, the claimant gave no reasonable excuse for waiting eleven days after the rejection letter before contacting ACAS. It concluded that any later claim would not have been brought within such further time as was reasonable. The rejection of the unfair dismissal claim was therefore maintained and no remedy was awarded.