Mr M Zdrazil v AA Woods Holdings Limited and 1 other — 2020

The claimant was dismissed without notice on 29 March 2019. The tribunal's decision was confined to limitation and party identity: it found that, despite dismissal letters and other material referring to AA Woods, the claimant was not clearly told that his employer was Woods Building Services Ltd. It accepted his evidence that he only understood the employer's identity after the respondents' solicitor wrote on 25 July 2019, and that he then acted promptly by obtaining advice and presenting the ET1 on 13 August 2019.

Applying s.111 ERA 1996 and the authorities it cited, including Palmer and Saunders, Schultz, Dedman and Wall's Meat, the tribunal held that it was not reasonably practicable for the claim to be presented by 28 June 2019 and extended time so the claim against Woods Building Services Ltd was within jurisdiction. It also said that, if needed, it would have substituted Woods Building Services Ltd under Rule 34, struck out the claim against AA Woods Holdings Ltd under Rule 37(1)(a) because it was not the employer, and treated the disability discrimination claims as dismissed upon withdrawal. The substantive merits of the dismissal-related claims were not determined.