Mr D Hunon (Solicitor) v Respondent — 2023

At the preliminary hearing on 28 June 2023, the claimant brought claims against the Ministry of Justice for disability discrimination, maternity/pregnancy discrimination, unfair dismissal, redundancy pay, unlawful deduction from wages for holiday pay, and breach of contract for notice pay. The tribunal focused on limitation. It held that the redundancy payment complaint was outside the statutory period under section 164 ERA 1996 and that there was no power to extend time beyond 12 months from the relevant date.

For the unfair dismissal, holiday pay, and breach of contract claims, the tribunal applied the not reasonably practicable test under section 111 ERA 1996, section 23(4) ERA 1996, and article 7 of the 1994 Extension of Jurisdiction Order. It found the claims could have been presented in February or March 2019 when the claimant was in contact with her union and solicitors, and that the solicitors' view that the case lacked merit did not make presentation impracticable. Although the claimant described herself as mentally incapacitated from around 21 March 2019, the tribunal found there was no early-2019 medical evidence showing that she could not present a claim.

In the alternative, the tribunal found that any further reasonable period expired no later than June 2020, when the claimant was able to put matters in writing to the union with advocacy support. For the Equality Act claims, the tribunal considered the just and equitable discretion under section 123 Equality Act 2010, referring to Robertson v Bexley Community Centre and London Borough of Southwark v Afolabi, but refused to extend time. It accepted the claimant's mental health difficulties, but held that the delay of more than three years, the earlier opportunities to bring the case, and the prejudice and costs to the respondent meant it was not just and equitable to hear the claims. The tribunal therefore held that it had no jurisdiction to hear any part of the case and dismissed the claim.