In person For the v Ms A Kent (Solicitor with Weightmans) — 2021

The tribunal considered a preliminary hearing on the time limit for the claimant's unfair dismissal claim. The agreed dates were that the effective date of termination was 31 December 2020, the primary limitation date expired on 30 March 2021, the ACAS early conciliation period began on 1 April 2021, and the ET1 was lodged on 7 April 2021. On those dates, the tribunal held that the claim had been lodged out of time and that the s.207B extension did not apply because early conciliation began after the primary limitation period had already expired.

The tribunal then considered whether it should extend time under s.111(2)(b) ERA 1996 on the basis that it had not been reasonably practicable for the claimant to present the complaint in time. It accepted that the claimant was unfamiliar with tribunal procedure and had no professional advice, but found that he had long management experience, knew of ACAS and knew he needed to refer the matter there. It also found that he was aware of his right to go to tribunal and could have checked the time limits online or through ACAS, but did not do so.

The tribunal accepted that the claimant believed he had to complete the internal grievance process before approaching ACAS, and accepted that he acted immediately once he received the grievance outcome email on 31 March 2021. It found, however, that there was no evidence the respondent had acted in bad faith or deliberately misled him, and that there was no evidence that HR or management told him he had to finish the grievance before taking external steps. It concluded that the missed deadline resulted from the claimant's ignorance of the relevant time limits and his failure to make simple enquiries, so the claim was struck out as having no reasonable prospect of success.