Ms M Sih v - Solicitor J&A Mitchell & Company Limited — 2020

This was a preliminary hearing on timebar only. The claimant was dismissed on 30 April 2019 and issued her ET1 on 27 September 2019. The tribunal found that the effective date of termination was 30 April 2019, so the ordinary deadline would have expired on 29 July 2019, subject to the ACAS early conciliation extension.

The tribunal found that ACAS early conciliation started on 12 July 2019 and the certificate was issued on 12 August 2019. Applying s.207B ERA 1996, the tribunal calculated that the extended time limit expired on 12 September 2019. Because the claim was not presented until 27 September 2019, it was out of time.

On the question whether it was not reasonably practicable for the claim to be presented in time, the tribunal accepted that the claimant knew by around 5 May 2019 that she had a potential unfair dismissal claim and knew there was a time limit. It also found that her solicitor was a legal adviser and was aware of the early conciliation process. The claimant said she followed her solicitor's advice in not issuing earlier, but the tribunal held that reliance on legal advice was not a reason why it was not reasonably practicable to present the claim in time.

The tribunal therefore held that the claim was time barred, dismissed it, and declined jurisdiction to hear it. No merits findings or monetary award were made.