Miss M Seale v Axis Europe Limited — 2019

Miss M Seale was dismissed with effect from 26 November 2018. She presented her tribunal claim on 26 April 2019, after the expiry of the extended primary time limit following early conciliation, which ran to 24 April 2019. The preliminary hearing therefore addressed only limitation and jurisdiction, not the merits of the dismissal or wage complaints.

For unfair dismissal and unlawful deduction of wages, the tribunal applied the section 111(2) Employment Rights Act 1996 and section 23(4) Employment Rights Act 1996 tests and asked whether it was reasonably practicable to present the claims in time. It found that the claimant knew she had the right to bring tribunal proceedings, had taken legal advice before the disciplinary hearing, had contacted ACAS, and had been told on 24 April 2019 that it was her responsibility to ensure the claim was submitted on time. The tribunal did not accept that her stated reasons, including waiting for insurance cover, possible settlement discussions, or ill-health, made it impracticable to present in time.

For the disability discrimination complaints, the tribunal applied section 123 Equality Act 2010 and considered whether it was just and equitable to extend time. It accepted that the claimant said she had chronic fatigue, but no medical evidence was produced to support a disability-based explanation for the delay. The tribunal relied on the claimant's lack of action after receiving repeated information about the time limit, including ACAS's warning that she risked being out of time, and held that there were insufficient grounds to extend time. All claims were dismissed for want of jurisdiction.