Ms E Sully v FEI Foods Limited and 2 others — 2024

The claimant started work for FEI Foods Limited on 13 May 2019 as a Commercial Director. The tribunal recorded that she alleged a campaign of bullying, harassment and mistreatment from August 2020, and that her health deteriorated significantly after an operation in February 2021, subsequent sickness absence, and a capability dismissal on 22 October 2021 with an effective date of termination of 22 April 2022. The claim form was presented on 13 March 2024, well outside the primary time limits, so the preliminary hearing was concerned only with time limits rather than the merits of the substantive claims.

For the unfair dismissal and unlawful deduction from wages complaints, the tribunal applied the reasonable practicability test under section 111 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. It accepted the claimant's evidence, the evidence of her sons, and the medical records, and found that her illness became very severe throughout 2022 and 2023, creating an impediment to presenting the claims in time. It also found that the claim was presented within a reasonable period after that, noting that it was lodged just under a week after the Early Conciliation Certificate was issued on 7 March 2024.

For the disability discrimination complaints, the tribunal applied the just and equitable test under section 123 of the Equality Act 2010. It held that the claimant had put forward a substantial and substantiated reason for the delay, and that the respondent had not shown material prejudice: the evidence on prejudice was thin, there was no direct evidence that witnesses could not be traced or would not recall events, and any further delay before the final hearing was said to be minimal. Time was therefore extended for the disability discrimination complaints to proceed.