Mr A Lukomski (Representative with Concilium) For the v Ms K Chrustowska (HR manager with the Respondent) Strike Out Decision – — 2021

The claimant brought claims of unfair dismissal and money claims for holiday pay, arrears of pay, and failure to pay overtime. At the preliminary hearing on 31 August 2021, Employment Judge O'Neill considered that the effective date of termination was likely 19 October 2020, as stated in the ET1, and accepted that the claimant was reasonable in relying on the dismissal letter when identifying the termination date.

On that basis, the tribunal calculated that the three-month time limit under section 111 ERA 1996 would have expired on 18 January 2021, but ACAS early conciliation extended the deadline to 26 March 2021. The ET1 was not presented until 29 March 2021, so it was still out of time.

The judge considered whether it had not been reasonably practicable to present the claims in time under section 111(2)(b) ERA 1996, but was not satisfied that this test was met. The claimant's representative had advised her throughout the ACAS conciliation period, and although a paper ET1 had apparently been attempted earlier, the tribunal inferred that there had been time to correct and submit the claim in time. The unfair dismissal claim and the money claims were therefore struck out under rule 37 as having no reasonable prospect of success because they were lodged out of time.