Case 4122164/2018 · Employment Tribunal
Mr J Cowden v South Lanarkshire Council — 2019
- Case reference
- 4122164/2018
- Decision date
- 25 February 2019
- Jurisdiction
- Scotland
- Judge
- Employment Judge Iain Atack
- Venue
- Glasgow
Parties
2 namedClaimant
Mr J Cowden
Respondent
Key findings
Tribunal's reasoningThe claimant alleged unfair dismissal. The respondent raised time bar as a preliminary issue, and the tribunal considered whether the complaint had been presented within three months of the effective date of termination or whether it had not been reasonably practicable to present it in time.
The tribunal found that the effective date of termination was 11 July 2018, so the unfair dismissal complaint had to be presented by 10 October 2018. The claimant contacted ACAS on 29 October 2018, received the ACAS certificate on 30 October 2018, and presented the ET1 on 30 October 2018. The complaint was therefore out of time on its face.
The claimant said he did not know about the time limits, had not been told of them by his union representatives, and had waited until after his internal appeal. The tribunal held that he had been represented throughout by union representatives, could have investigated or contacted ACAS earlier, and that the pending internal appeal did not affect the time limit. It concluded that it was reasonably practicable for the claim to have been presented in time and dismissed the case.
Claims and outcomes
1 finding recorded| Claim type | Issue or finding | Outcome | Protected characteristic | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unfair dismissal | The unfair dismissal complaint was dismissed because the tribunal held it did not have jurisdiction under section 111 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, the claim having been presented out of time and it having been reasonably practicable to present it in time. | Dismissed | — | — |
Legal tests applied
6 references- section 111(2)(a) Employment Rights Act 1996
- reasonably practicable
- Palmer v Southend-on-Sea Borough Council
- Dedman v British Building and Engineering Appliances Ltd
- Marks and Spencer plc v Williams-Ryan
- Bodha v Hampshire Health Authority
Official outcome judgment PDF
Gov.uk primary recordThe official judgment PDF on gov.uk contains the tribunal's outcome, reasoning, and any remedy details. Where this page does not yet show extracted outcomes for every claim, use the PDF as the authoritative source.
Published on gov.uk under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
How we got this data
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