Claimant v Telecom Service Centres Ltd t/a Webhelp UK — 2022

The claimant was dismissed by reason of redundancy in 2021 and brought an unfair dismissal claim. The preliminary issue was whether the unfair dismissal complaint was presented within the time limits in section 111(2) of the Employment Rights Act 1996, which depended on identifying the effective date of termination. The claimant said the date was 30 September 2021, while the respondent said it was 31 August 2021.

The tribunal found that the final consultation meeting on 26 August 2021 did not give clear and unambiguous notice of termination on 31 August 2021. The meeting notes were not a verbatim account, the evidence about what was said was unclear, and other dates later provided by the respondent were inconsistent. The dismissal letter sent the same day stated that the claimant's employment would terminate on 30 September 2021, and the attached termination documents also used that date for continuous employment and the reference date.

The tribunal concluded that the claimant's effective date of termination under section 97(1) ERA was 30 September 2021. With the ACAS early conciliation extension, the unfair dismissal claim presented on 20 February 2022 was within time, so the tribunal had jurisdiction to hear it. The judgment also records that the claimant's disability discrimination claim had been withdrawn.