An employment tribunal has found that a long-serving employee who was dismissed last Christmas was out of time to bring a claim against his employer, Minster Law, because he had lodged it with the tribunal four days late.
The Claimant, Mr Gillard, was informed during his outcome meeting on 16 December 2021, that he was dismissed with immediate effect from the law firm he had been employed by for 18 years.
Mr Gillard understood that the effective date of termination was 22 December when he received his dismissal letter. He therefore used this date to calculate the limitation period and issued his claim on 29 April 2022.
The tribunal ruled that the dismissal during the meeting was the starting point for the three-month limitation period for bringing a claim, not the point a few days later when Mr Gillard received the written confirmation from his employer.
The Judge said that Mr Gillard was aware his employment was terminating immediately during the meeting and that confirmation of the dismissal in the meeting notes was ‘clear and unambiguous’. Furthermore, Mr Gillard had access to legal advice many months prior to lodging his claim and it was reasonable to expect him to know the deadline. The Judge went on to say that “the case law makes it clear that it doesn’t matter whether the claim was presented four minutes or four days after the deadline.”
This is a reminder to employees that the time limits in employment tribunals are very strict. In the majority of cases, employees will be required to submit their claim within three months less one day from the date of termination or the date of the treatment giving rise to the claim. Additional time is allowed for ACAS early conciliation which temporarily ‘stops the clock’ on the time period for lodging a claim.
If an employee doesn’t bring a claim within the required time limit, the claim will not proceed to be heard by the tribunal and an extension is only granted in very limited circumstances.
If you have any queries relating to Employment Tribunals please do contact our expert Employment Team on 0345 646 0406 or fill in our online enquiry form and a member of our Team will be in touch.