Mrs Elaine Black v Respondent — 2023

Mrs Elaine Black brought a complaint about an alleged untrue or detrimental reference said to have been given by Dr Adnan Malik trading as Cumbrae Medical Practice to Largs Medical Group after she had resigned from the practice on 21 December 2021. Her ET1 did not identify unfair dismissal, discrimination, or wage claims, and the Tribunal repeatedly asked her to explain the legal basis for a reference complaint and why the Employment Tribunal had jurisdiction to hear it.

On the documents before it, the Tribunal accepted that Ms Black had applied for a job with Largs Medical Group, that the offer was withdrawn in May 2022, and that Cumbrae Medical Practice denied giving a written reference. The Tribunal treated the substance of the complaint as a post-employment reference dispute rather than a dismissal claim, and held that such a matter was not within the statutory jurisdiction of the Employment Tribunal. It noted that any claim might lie in the civil courts.

The Tribunal also found that, even if jurisdiction existed, the claim was time-barred on the information available. It treated 23 May 2022 as the relevant date, when the Largs offer was withdrawn, so the three-month period expired on 22 August 2022. ACAS was not notified until 9 October 2022, and the Tribunal said no clear explanation had been provided for the delay. It further found unreasonable conduct, non-compliance with earlier orders, and that the claim had not been actively pursued, and therefore struck the claim out. No monetary award was made.