Case 3202582/2018 · Employment Tribunal
Ms K McCairn v Acanteen Limited — 2019
- Case reference
- 3202582/2018
- Decision date
- 5 August 2019
- Jurisdiction
- England & Wales
- Judge
- Employment Judge Reid Representation
- Venue
- East London Hearing Centre
Parties
2 namedClaimant
Ms K McCairn
Respondent
Key findings
Tribunal's reasoningThe only claim before Employment Judge Reid was Ms K McCairn’s pregnancy/maternity discrimination claim against Acanteen Limited. The tribunal treated the issue as one of time limit under s123 Equality Act 2010. It found that the last act complained of was the respondent’s refusal, following the grievance process, to accept the claimant’s proposals for returning to work. Time therefore ran from 10 July 2018, and after allowing for ACAS early conciliation the limitation date was 9 November 2018.
The tribunal accepted that the claimant had legal advice from an early stage, knew about time limits, and was aware that the ACAS process paused and then restarted the clock. It also accepted that she had anxiety and depression, was caring for a new baby, and had been on sick leave before maternity leave. However, it found that those matters did not prevent her from presenting the claim in time, because she had been able to prepare a detailed 49-page attachment to her ET1 from August 2018 and had the ability and time to complete a shorter online claim form. Weighing the length and reasons for delay, the prejudice to both parties, and the other s33 Limitation Act factors as modified by British Coal v Keeble, the tribunal held that it was not just and equitable to extend time. The claim was therefore dismissed.
Claims and outcomes
1 finding recorded| Claim type | Issue or finding | Outcome | Protected characteristic | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pregnancy and maternity discrimination | Dismissed on limitation grounds under s123 Equality Act 2010; tribunal held the claim was presented outside the time limit and it was not just and equitable to extend time. | Dismissed | Pregnancy and maternity | — |
Legal tests applied
7 references- s123(1)(a) Equality Act 2010
- s123(1)(b) Equality Act 2010
- Robertson v Bexley CC
- Pathan v South London Islamic Centre
- Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Local Health Board v Morgan
- British Coal Corporation v Keeble
- s33 Limitation Act 1980 factors
Official outcome judgment PDF
Gov.uk primary recordThe official judgment PDF on gov.uk contains the tribunal's outcome, reasoning, and any remedy details. Where this page does not yet show extracted outcomes for every claim, use the PDF as the authoritative source.
Published on gov.uk under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
How we got this data
Case essentials (reference, date, judge, venue, country, claim categories) are extracted from the structured metadata gov.uk publishes alongside each decision. Parties and monetary figures are extracted from the judgment PDF text. Key findings and per-claim outcomes require a second extraction pass that is not yet complete for this case — until then, the primary source linked above is the authoritative record. See full methodology.
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