Mr M Chowdhury v London Borough of Newham and 2 others — 2022

The Tribunal considered claims against three unconnected former employers. It found that the claims against the London Borough of Newham and the London Borough of Hillingdon were only ordinary unfair dismissal claims, with the latter treated as an unfair constructive dismissal claim. Because the Claimant had less than two years' continuous employment with each respondent, those claims were dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.

For The Riverside Group Limited, the Tribunal accepted the response and dismissed the ordinary unfair dismissal claim for the same two-year service reason. It found that the religion or belief discrimination claim against Riverside had been presented outside the Equality Act time limit and declined to extend time. The Tribunal considered the Claimant's evidence about his knee fracture and mental health, but found the reasons given did not justify extending time, particularly because he had early legal advice and knew about tribunal time limits.

The Tribunal found that the Claimant's claims about his final salary payment and accrued holiday pay against Riverside were presented in time after applying the ACAS extension provisions. Those claims were not decided on their merits and were ordered to proceed. The breach of contract claim was dismissed because there was no notice pay claim, and the Tribunal stated that it had no jurisdiction to decide negligence.