Mr. Claudius Baptiste v Network Rail Infrastructure Limited — 2022

The tribunal found that the claimant became aware of and read the dismissal letter on 25 October 2020, so that was the effective date of termination for limitation purposes. The primary three-month time limit expired on 24 January 2021, and the claim presented on 1 February 2021 was eight days late.

The tribunal accepted that the claimant had been ill while abroad, had undergone operations, returned to the UK on 12 December 2020, quarantined, and remained unwell and in pain into January 2021. It found that for much of the limitation period it was not reasonably practicable to present the claim because of illness, and in the final weeks the delay was substantially caused by a combination of continuing illness and the claimant's expectation that he would be reinstated on appeal.

The tribunal concluded that it was not reasonably practicable for the claim to be presented within the primary time limit and that the further eight-day period before presentation was reasonable. It therefore held that it had jurisdiction to consider the unfair dismissal claim.