Mr M Atkinson Miss K Myers v British Telecommunications plc — 2021

Mr Atkinson brought claims for unfair dismissal and entitlement to a redundancy payment, either statutory and/or breach of contract. Ms Myers brought a claim for entitlement to a redundancy payment, either statutory and/or breach of contract. After learning of the statutory cap, the claimants did not pursue the statutory redundancy payment claims at the hearing. The remaining preliminary issue was whether the unfair dismissal and breach of contract complaints had been presented in time.

Mr Atkinson's employment ended by reason of redundancy on 8 November 2020, so his claims had to be presented by 7 February 2021. He contacted ACAS on 27 March 2021 and presented his claim on 27 April 2021. Ms Myers' employment ended by reason of redundancy on 15 November 2020, so her claim had to be presented by 14 February 2021. She contacted ACAS on 29 March 2021 and presented her claim on 6 May 2021. Because the normal time limits had expired before ACAS was contacted, the tribunal found that the early conciliation extension did not assist either claimant.

The tribunal accepted both claimants' explanations as honest accounts but found that neither had proved it was not reasonably practicable to present the complaints in time. It found that ignorance of rights was not enough without reasonable steps to acquire the necessary knowledge, that there was no evidence the union had misled either claimant, and that the evidence did not show illness or incapacity preventing enquiries, contacting ACAS, or presenting a claim within time. The tribunal therefore found the complaints out of time and did not proceed to determine the redundancy payment calculation issue or Mr Atkinson's unfair dismissal claim on the merits.