Mr. Mark Robinson v Department For International Trade — 2020

This was a preliminary hearing on whether Mr. Robinson’s unfair dismissal claim was within the time limit in section 111 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The respondent said he was dismissed by letter dated 17 February 2014. The claimant said he did not become aware of the dismissal until 20 January 2017. The tribunal also considered the effect of early conciliation under section 18A of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 and section 207B of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

The tribunal reviewed the correspondence history and accepted that there had been repeated problems with communication, but found there were strong indications that the claimant had either received the dismissal letter earlier or should, by reasonable enquiries, have discovered it sooner. Applying Gisda Cyf v Barratt, and referring to Palmer and Saunders v Southend on Sea Borough Council and Walls Meat Co Ltd v Khan, the tribunal held that even giving the claimant the benefit of the doubt, the effective date of termination was September 2015. It also said that if the later date of 21 January 2017 were used, the claimant still had not shown that it was not reasonably practicable to present a claim in time.

The tribunal found that the claimant had not presented his claim within one month of the early conciliation certificate dated 4 May 2019, and that this failure was not explained by any reasonable difficulty. It noted his access to the internet, his trade union involvement, his contact with his MP, and the absence of any sufficient reason why he could not check the position or file a claim within the relevant period. The claim was therefore dismissed for want of jurisdiction. The tribunal did not determine the merits of the unfair dismissal complaint.