Ms I Egan (Counsel) For the v Respondent — 2021

At a preliminary hearing in Reading by CVP on 16 July 2021, Employment Judge Bloom dealt with claims by Miss J Ellinor against Nirvana Spa and Leisure Limited for constructive unfair dismissal and disability discrimination. The claimant’s effective date of termination was 2 November 2018, and she presented her ET1 on 23 December 2019. The tribunal recorded that the claims were out of time and that the dispute turned on compliance with the early conciliation requirements.

The claimant had started ACAS early conciliation on 11 December 2018 and obtained certificate R353614/18/47 dated 11 January 2019. No claim was then presented within the statutory period. She later obtained a second early conciliation certificate, R149064/19/31, on 26 April 2019, but the ET1 referred to that second certificate rather than the first. The tribunal found that Rule 12(1)(c) of the 2013 Rules had therefore not been complied with.

Relying on Eon Control Solutions Limited v Caspall, the tribunal held that rejection under Rule 12 was mandatory and that it had no discretion to consider whether it was not reasonably practicable to present the constructive unfair dismissal claim in time or whether it was just and equitable to extend time for the discrimination claim. It therefore rejected both claims and said the claimant could consider an application for reconsideration under Rule 13(2) if the defect could be rectified.