Ms G Marfo v Sodexho Limited — 2018

This judgment determined a preliminary time-limit issue rather than the merits of the employment claims. Mr Wilson for the respondent conceded at the outset that the claim had been presented in time, and the tribunal accordingly found that the claim was in time.

The uncertainty arose because the claim form gave 22 December 2017 as the termination date. The tribunal found that, although the dismissal letter was dated 4 January 2018 and stated that the date of dismissal was 22 December 2017, dismissal could not take effect until it had been communicated to the claimant and she had had a reasonable opportunity to consider it. On that basis, the dismissal could not have taken effect before delivery on 5 January 2018.

Applying the normal three-month time limit from that effective date, the tribunal said the limit would expire on 4 April 2018. It then added the 28 days spent in early conciliation, from 19 February to 19 March 2018, so the adjusted deadline became 2 May 2018.

The claim form was presented on 1 May 2018 and was therefore within time. The judgment ends with case management orders for the rest of the proceedings to be sent separately, so no substantive unfair dismissal, wages, or working time findings were made in this decision.