ETZ 4(WR) IN THE EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL (SCOTLAND) AT EDINBURGH Judgment of the Employment Tribunal in Case No: 4103452/2023 Issued Following Closed Preliminary Hearing (Case Management Discussion) Held on the Cloud Based Video Platform on th March 2023 at 9.30 am Employment Judge J G d’Inverno Mr S Wightman v Royal Mail Group Limited — 2024

The Tribunal considered, as a preliminary issue, whether the claimant's unfair dismissal complaint and claim for payment in respect of accrued but untaken holiday pay were presented out of time. The claimant was summarily dismissed on 9 March 2023, contacted ACAS the same day, and received an Early Conciliation Certificate on 20 April 2023. The Tribunal found that the extended time limits expired on 20 and 21 July 2023.

The claimant attempted to submit an ET1 around the expiry of the extended time limit, but it was rejected because he had wrongly stated that he was exempt from early conciliation. The Tribunal found that he had been aware of his rights, the relevant time limits, and the early conciliation dates, and that he had provided no explanation showing why it was not reasonably practicable to submit a correctly completed claim form in time.

The Tribunal also found that, even if the initial time point had been satisfied, the later delays would not have amounted to presentation within a reasonable further period. The claimant delayed about six weeks before applying for reconsideration of the rejection, did not provide the complete Early Conciliation Certificate number or amended ET1, and then delayed a further six weeks before submitting material in an acceptable form. The claims were therefore dismissed for want of jurisdiction.