Ms F Campbell v Lloyds pharmacy — 2019

The tribunal dealt with a preliminary issue on time limits rather than the merits of the dismissal. It was agreed that the claimant’s effective date of termination was 18 May 2018 and that her unfair dismissal claim, presented on 1 November 2018, was out of time unless the tribunal extended time under section 111 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

The claimant had multiple contacts with Citizens Advice both before and after dismissal and pursued an internal appeal. The tribunal accepted that 2018 had been a traumatic year for her and that she believed she had to exhaust the appeal process before bringing a tribunal claim. However, it was not satisfied that she had in fact been given incorrect advice about time limits, and considered it highly unlikely that all four CAB advisers failed to mention them. Given her repeated CAB meetings and her ability to access information online, the tribunal found that it was reasonably practicable for her to have presented the claim before 17 August 2018.

The tribunal also held that, even if it had not been reasonably practicable to present the claim in time, the claim was not brought within a further reasonable period. By 17 October 2018 the claimant knew the claim was out of time, but she did not contact ACAS until 26 October 2018. The tribunal concluded that it therefore had no jurisdiction to hear the unfair dismissal complaint.