Ms S O’Brien v Holmes & Hills Solicitors LLP — 2021

The matter came before Employment Judge Burgher at East London Hearing Centre by Cloud Video Platform on 1 July 2021. The judgment records that the Claimant was bringing a claim under section 100 Employment Rights Act 1996, but also states that no Equality Act 2010 claim and no claim for a redundancy payment were being advanced. The issue listed for determination was whether the complaint had been presented within the statutory time limit, or within such further period as was reasonable.

The tribunal found that the effective date of termination was 17 March 2020, that the three-month time limit expired on 16 June 2020, and that the ACAS early conciliation extension moved the deadline to 30 June 2020. The ET1 was not presented until 24 November 2020, about 21 weeks late. Applying the statutory reasonably practicable test, and referring to Palmer and Saunders v Southend-On-Sea Borough Council, Asda Stores v Kauser and Norbert Dentressangle Logistics Ltd v Hutton, the tribunal held that the Claimant's difficult personal circumstances, including bereavement, family care responsibilities, and the COVID-19 lockdown, did not prevent her from filing in time.

The tribunal accepted that the Claimant had contacted ACAS and solicitors before expiry, and it rejected her argument that it was reasonable to delay because she was trying to obtain legal representation. It also found that her ignorance of the ability to bring a claim herself was not reasonable, and that even on the alternative question of whether the complaint had been brought within a reasonable further period after expiry, there was no adequate explanation for waiting until 24 November 2020 after undertaking research in the weeks before the second lockdown. The complaint was therefore outside section 111 ERA 1996 and dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.