In person For the First v Ms A Vance (HR Business Partner) — 2020

The claimant brought a single unfair dismissal claim. The tribunal found that his employment ended on 31 May 2019, not 27 June 2019 as stated in the claim form, because he had been paid in lieu of notice. Applying the three-month limit under s.111 ERA 1996, the deadline for presentation was 30 August 2019. The claim was not presented until 31 October 2019, so it was out of time.

The tribunal accepted that the claimant had appealed his dismissal and received the appeal outcome on or about 24 July 2019. It also accepted that he had contacted ACAS in August, but found that he had not started the ACAS Early Conciliation process at that point, so there was no extension to the limitation period. The tribunal found that he could have made enquiries about the time limit and that, even after being told by ACAS about the three-month limit, it remained reasonably practicable for him to present his claim in time.

The claimant relied on the demands of parenting, caring for his father, and dealing with his appeal. The tribunal accepted that those were real pressures, but found they did not make it not reasonably practicable to present the claim within time. It also found that the further delay of about two months after the expiry of the primary limitation period was not reasonable in all the circumstances. The unfair dismissal claim was therefore dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.