Mr D Cavanaugh v Folsana Pressed Sections Limited — 2021

This was a preliminary hearing on limitation. The claimant's employment ended on 21 November 2018, his appeal against dismissal was unsuccessful on 17 December 2018, and he began ACAS early conciliation on 15 February 2019. The early conciliation certificate issued on 15 March 2019 extended the primary time limit to 15 April 2019, but the tribunal recorded that the ET claim was not presented until 29 January 2020, around nine months late. The judgment disposed of claims for unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal, unlawful deduction from wages, and detriment because of a protected disclosure.

The tribunal accepted medical evidence showing stress at work from September 2018, prescription of antidepressants and psychological therapy, and a deterioration in the claimant's health through August 2019. It accepted that he struggled to cope, resigned from subsequent employment, and that his wife had concerns about the impact of pursuing a claim on his health. On that evidence, it held that it was not reasonably practicable for him to present the claim within the extended primary limitation period ending 15 April 2019.

The tribunal nevertheless found that the claim was not brought within such further period as it considered reasonable. It noted that by August 2019 the claimant's health was improving, he had set up his own business, could travel and work, and was involved in his wife's tribunal proceedings, including correspondence, a witness statement, and attendance at her hearing in October 2019. The tribunal concluded that it would have been reasonable for him to lodge his own claim between August 2019 and January 2020, before a further deterioration recorded by his GP in January 2020. All claims were therefore dismissed as out of time.