Mr S O’Doherty v Yell Sales Ltd — 2021

The claimant worked for Yell Sales Limited as a tele-sales consultant in its Belfast office. On 20 November 2020 he presented claims through the England and Wales online tribunal system, described as automatic unfair dismissal for alleged protected disclosures and breach of contract as to notice. The claim was allocated by reference to the respondent's head office postcode in Reading, although the claimant had identified Belfast as his place of work on the claim form.

On 7 December 2020 Regional Employment Judge Foxwell directed that the claim be rejected because it should have been presented in Northern Ireland. The claimant's solicitors later sought reconsideration, and time for the application was extended because of the history of the rejection and clarification of the reason for it. The request for reconsideration was then refused.

The tribunal held that the claims were made under the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the Extension of Jurisdiction (England & Wales) Order 1994, but those provisions do not extend to Northern Ireland. It relied on section 244(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and section 47 of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996, and concluded that it had no jurisdiction over employment disputes arising in Northern Ireland and no power to transfer the claims to that jurisdiction.