Mr N Stubbs v The Alpine Club R1 White Mountain Chalets Ltd R2 — 2022

This was a preliminary hearing about timeliness and case management, not a merits hearing. The claimant had presented his claim form on 11 February 2021, and the tribunal noted that the claim appeared to have been presented out of time because the employment had ended on either 27 November 2017, as stated in the claim form, or 1 April 2018, as later said by R2. The claimant said the delay was because he only learned about Acas and his legal rights in July 2020, and that he had been evicted in August 2020 and homeless until 4 February 2021.

R2 had not filed a response by the original deadline and asked for an extension of time. The tribunal accepted that the response had been served late but granted the extension, taking account of R2's explanation about service at its registered office, COVID-related working arrangements, the circumstances of its business, and the delay before the claim paperwork was collected. Because the hearing was cut short after the claimant's conduct, the tribunal said the issue of whether the claim should be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction because it was out of time would be dealt with on the papers. The tribunal also identified that the correct identity of R1 remained unclear and warned the claimant to moderate his correspondence and conduct.