Mr G Bland v Kasai UK Limited — 2021

This was a preliminary hearing on whether Mr G Bland’s unfair dismissal claim against Kasai UK Limited had been presented in time. The tribunal accepted the agreed dates: the effective date of termination was 26 March 2021, ACAS received the early conciliation notification on 20 April 2021, the ACAS certificate was issued on 13 May 2021, and the ET1 was presented on 19 July 2021. On that basis, the tribunal found the claim was presented one day outside the extended limitation period, which expired on 18 July 2021.

The tribunal considered section 111(2) Employment Rights Act 1996 and the question whether it had been reasonably practicable for the claim to be presented in time. It referred to Palmer and Saunders v Southend on Sea Borough Council and Trevelyans (Birmingham) Limited v Norton when explaining the “reasonably practicable” test and the relevance of a claimant’s knowledge of the right to complain and duty to seek advice. Mr Bland said he had misunderstood the ACAS correspondence, thought ACAS would put the claim forward, and then delayed further before issuing the ET1 himself.

The tribunal found there was no evidence that Mr Bland had been misled by ACAS or anyone else, and no other circumstance making it not reasonably practicable to present the claim within time. It noted that the information was available in the ACAS correspondence, which he had not read carefully, and that there was a further fourteen-day delay after he understood he had to issue the claim himself. The tribunal concluded that the claim was out of time, that it had been reasonably practicable to present it in time, and that it had no jurisdiction to hear the claim. The claim was therefore dismissed.