Miss P Kelly v P&O North Sea Ferries Limited — 2022

Miss Kelly’s employment ended on 17 November 2021. The tribunal treated the claims as having been received on 10 June 2022, after an initial error in naming the respondent was corrected. The issue for the hearing was whether the unfair dismissal and disability discrimination claims had been presented in time, and if not whether time should be extended. The claimant said she had been pursuing an internal appeal, had health problems including Crohn’s disease and bile acid malabsorption, and had received support from UNITE, the CAB and later ACAS and insurance-backed solicitors.

On the unfair dismissal claim, the tribunal held that it was reasonably practicable for the claim to have been presented by 16 February 2022. It found the claimant had access to UNITE and could have asked for advice about lodging a claim and the effect of starting ACAS early conciliation by that date. It also found that she had already managed to engage with the respondent’s appeal process and attend appeal meetings before the limitation date. Although the tribunal accepted that she had medical conditions and noted the respondent’s concession that she met the statutory definition of disability, it was not persuaded by the absence of medical evidence that those conditions prevented a timely claim. The unfair dismissal claim was therefore dismissed.

On the disability discrimination claim, the tribunal applied the just and equitable test and concluded that time should not be extended. It relied on the length of the delay, the lack of a good reason for it, the claimant’s limited engagement in progressing the claim, and the fact that the claim remained insufficiently particularised. The tribunal also considered the likely prejudice to both sides, including the passage of time since dismissal and the possibility that relevant witnesses might no longer be available, as well as the need for further case management if the claim were allowed to proceed. The discrimination claim was therefore dismissed.