Mr M Sherman v East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust — 2020

The tribunal granted the respondent's application to extend time for presenting its Response under Rule 20. Applying Kwik Save v Swain, the judge accepted the explanation for the delay was not especially strong but found the balance of prejudice and the potential merits of the defence favoured allowing the Response.

On the claim itself, the tribunal found the claimant was summarily dismissed on 13 June 2019, so Early Conciliation needed to be started by 12 September 2019 if the unfair dismissal complaint was to remain within time. Early Conciliation was not started until 24 October 2019, and the ET1 was presented on 7 November 2019.

The tribunal considered whether it had jurisdiction because it was not reasonably practicable to bring the claim in time. It found that, despite low mood and stress, the claimant was able to pursue his dismissal and grievance appeals, prepare documents with and without union assistance, attend the appeal hearing, and seek and start alternative full-time work. The judge also held that any misunderstanding arising from union advice about exhausting internal appeals was not a sufficient legal excuse. The tribunal therefore concluded it had no jurisdiction to hear the unfair dismissal complaint on its merits and dismissed the claim.