Mr Craig McLuskey v The Scottish Ministers — 2018

The claimant presented claims of unfair dismissal and disability discrimination after the primary time limits had expired. He said he did not know the time limit, believed the trade union would take care of the tribunal claim after he contacted it the day after dismissal, and acted quickly once told on 31 October 2017 that the union would not support him.

The Tribunal accepted that the claimant did not know the time limit and that it was reasonable for him not to make further enquiries while he understood the union was dealing with the matter. It also accepted his evidence about the impact of his medical condition and the termination of his employment, and found this supported why he left the claim to the union.

For the unfair dismissal complaint, the Tribunal found it was not reasonably practicable to present the claim in time and that presentation on 30 November 2017, after ACAS early conciliation on 20 November 2017, was within a reasonable further period. For the disability discrimination complaint, using 2 August 2017 as the relevant date for the purposes of the hearing, the Tribunal found a delay of about four weeks would not affect the cogency of the evidence and that it was just and equitable to allow the claim to proceed.