In Person For the v Respondent — 2019

At the preliminary hearing on 29 October 2019, Employment Judge Finlay considered whether the tribunal had jurisdiction to hear the claimant's complaints of disability discrimination, unlawful deduction from wages and breach of contract, all of which were subject to the Early Conciliation regime. The claimant had union assistance and contacted Acas on 27 December 2018, but the Early Conciliation Certificate was not issued until 27 January 2019. He presented the claim on 25 January 2019 after misunderstanding the advice he had been given about the time limit.

The tribunal held that section 18A(8) of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 required a certificate before relevant proceedings could be presented, and that Rule 10(1)(c) and Rule 12(1)(d) of the Employment Tribunal Rules 2013 required rejection where a claim form confirmed an exemption that did not apply. Relying on E.ON Control Solutions Ltd v Caspall, the tribunal said the defect was mandatory and could not be waived under Rule 6. It therefore rejected the claim for want of jurisdiction. No monetary remedy was awarded.