A Kemp (sitting alone) Mr W Hassan v Balfour Beatty Group Employment Limited — 2019

The claimant was dismissed for redundancy on 1 June 2018 and received pay in lieu of notice. The respondent confirmed the dismissal by letter dated 5 June 2018. The Tribunal held that, for the purposes of the unfair dismissal time limit under section 111 Employment Rights Act 1996, the effective date of termination was 1 June 2018 and was not postponed by the statutory notice provisions in section 97(2).

The claimant learned in July 2018 that another person may have been appointed to perform some of his former duties under a different job title. He had also been told by his union about the time limit for bringing a Tribunal claim. He pursued enquiries and later submitted an appeal, but did not start ACAS early conciliation until 8 October 2018 and presented the claim on 9 October 2018.

The Tribunal found that it had been reasonably practicable for the claimant to present the claim in time. It also found that the claim had not been presented within a reasonable period after he could have done so. The Tribunal therefore held that the claim was out of time, that it had no jurisdiction to consider it, and granted the respondent's application for strike out.