Ms E Wakelam v Ravensworth Golf Club — 2022

At the public preliminary hearing on 28 March 2023, the claimant withdrew her disability discrimination complaint. The tribunal recorded that the claim was dismissed pursuant to Rule 52. The claimant had previously indicated that she wished to pursue an indirect disability discrimination claim said to arise from the respondent's decision to evict her from tied accommodation and from her partner's disability.

The only live issue was whether the unfair dismissal complaint was in time under section 111 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The tribunal found that the effective date of termination was 3 July 2022, that ACAS early conciliation began on 8 August 2022 and that the extended time limit expired on 5 October 2022. The claim was presented on 7 October 2022.

The tribunal accepted that the claimant believed time ran from the date she was told that her internal appeal had been unsuccessful, but it found that belief to be mistaken. It found that the North East Law Centre had not given her the incorrect advice she said it had, and in any event any mistake by a skilled adviser would have been attributed to her under Dedman. It also found that the claimant did not make reasonable enquiries about the time limit, either of the CAB, ACAS or online, and that her late presentation was caused by her own mistaken understanding of the deadline.

Applying the reasonable practicability test under section 111, and referring to the authorities it cited, the tribunal held that it was reasonably practicable for the claimant to have presented the unfair dismissal complaint in time. The tribunal therefore lacked jurisdiction and dismissed the unfair dismissal complaint.