Ms C Dickens v The Partyman Company Ltd — 2021

The tribunal heard the claimant's unfair dismissal claim at a preliminary hearing on 22 December 2021 and dealt only with jurisdiction and time limits. It found that the claimant's employment ended on 18 November 2020, so the three-month time limit expired on 17 February 2021. The claimant applied to ACAS on 8 April 2021, after the deadline had already passed, and the ET1 was not presented until 21 June 2021, which the tribunal said was over four months late.

The tribunal accepted that the claimant had resigned in a poor mental state and that her grievance about bullying had been upheld, but it found no medical or other objective evidence that she was so depressed as to be incapacitated from taking steps to start the claim within time. It noted that she had not consulted a GP or mental health specialist, had not taken medication or counselling, and that if her condition had been severely incapacitating she or her partner would likely have sought help. The tribunal found that the real reason for the late claim was ignorance of the law, after the claimant's sister suggested applying to ACAS in April 2021.

Applying the 'reasonably practicable' test, the tribunal held that it had been reasonably practicable for the claimant to present the claim in time. It also found that, even after she became aware of the time limit, she delayed further without adequate excuse while drafting her particulars of claim. The tribunal therefore held that the time limit was not extended and dismissed the unfair dismissal claim for lack of jurisdiction.