Case 6009711/2025 · Employment Tribunal
Mrs N Hibberd v The Chief Constable of Avon & Somerset Constabulary — 2026
- Case reference
- 6009711/2025
- Decision date
- 1 June 2026
- Jurisdiction
- England & Wales
- Judge
- Employment Judge Cuthbert Appearances
Parties
2 namedClaimant
Mrs N Hibberd
Key findings
Tribunal's reasoningThis was a preliminary hearing judgment about limitation, not a final determination of the substantive claims. The claimant was dismissed on 8 November 2024 after a secondment ended, and the respondent said it was unable to find another suitable role for her. The judgment records that she brought claims primarily for unfair dismissal, disability discrimination and breach of contract.
The tribunal considered the undisputed dates: the claim form was presented on 20 March 2025; Acas Early Conciliation began on 12 December 2024; and the Early Conciliation certificate was issued on 23 January 2025. The issue was how section 207B ERA 1996 affected the limitation calculation, and in particular whether the 42-day Early Conciliation period should be added to the ordinary limitation date.
Employment Judge Cuthbert accepted the claimant's calculation. The ordinary time limit from the effective date of termination expired on 7 February 2025, the Early Conciliation extension was 42 days, and the extended time limit was therefore 21 March 2025. Because the ET1 was presented on 20 March 2025, the claims flowing from the 8 November 2024 termination were presented within time for the purposes of section 111 ERA 1996 and equivalent provisions.
No remedy was awarded in this judgment, and the merits of the unfair dismissal, disability discrimination and breach of contract claims were not determined.
Claims and outcomes
3 findings recorded| Claim type | Issue or finding | Outcome | Protected characteristic | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unfair dismissal | Preliminary hearing judgment only determined that claims flowing from the effective date of termination were presented in time; the merits of the unfair dismissal claim were not determined. | Other | — | — |
| Disability discrimination | The judgment records that the claimant brought a disability discrimination claim, but this preliminary judgment determined time limits only and did not decide the merits. | Other | Disability | — |
| Breach of contract | Preliminary hearing judgment only determined that claims flowing from the effective date of termination were presented in time under equivalent time limit provisions; the merits of the breach of contract claim were not determined. | Other | — | — |
Legal tests applied
3 references- section 111 Employment Rights Act 1996
- section 207B Employment Rights Act 1996
- Luton Borough Council v Haque UKEAT/0180/17
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.
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