Claimant v West Berkshire Council
Outcome
Individual claims
Dismissed for want of jurisdiction. The tribunal found it was reasonably practicable for the claim to have been presented within the three-month time limit, and the claimant failed to present the claim within a reasonable further period. The claim was approximately 9.5 months out of time.
This claim was put to one side for the purposes of the preliminary hearing which dealt only with unfair dismissal. The claim remains to be considered at a future hearing on 12 November 2025.
This claim was put to one side for the purposes of the preliminary hearing. The equal pay claim had a deadline of 29 April 2024 and was filed approximately 6.5 months out of time. To be considered at future hearing on 12 November 2025.
Claimant raised claims regarding failure to provide written statement under s.1 Employment Rights Act 1996. This claim was put to one side for the preliminary hearing and is to be determined at future hearing on 12 November 2025.
Withdrawn by claimant during the preliminary hearing on 8 October 2025.
Other pay claims withdrawn by claimant during the preliminary hearing on 8 October 2025.
During discussions at the preliminary hearing, the judge identified that the claimant may be making a complaint of victimisation. The precise nature of this claim will be dealt with at the next hearing on 12 November 2025.
Facts
The claimant resigned from his role as Senior Environmental Control Officer with West Berkshire Council on 28 September 2023, effective 31 October 2023, after approximately 5 years and 9 months of service. He had raised various complaints during his employment and pursued a grievance in February 2023. After leaving, he found new employment in November 2023. He presented a detailed letter of complaint on 16 June 2024 (sent to respondent on 25 July 2024) which cited extensive legislation and case law, demonstrating significant legal research capability. He did not file his ET1 until 4 November 2024, approximately 9.5 months out of time.
Decision
The tribunal dismissed the unfair dismissal claim for want of jurisdiction. The tribunal found that it was reasonably practicable for the claimant to have presented his claim within the three-month time limit. The claimant's ignorance of time limits was unreasonable given his demonstrated research capabilities. His mistaken belief that he had to complete the internal grievance process before filing was also unreasonable, and his health issues did not prevent him from filing. The claim was not presented within a reasonable further period.
Practical note
A litigant in person's ignorance of tribunal time limits will not excuse late filing if they demonstrably had the capability to research and discover those limits, particularly where they have researched complex employment law in preparing their claim.
Legal authorities cited
Statutes
Case details
- Case number
- 6017460/2024
- Decision date
- 10 October 2025
- Hearing type
- preliminary
- Hearing days
- 1
- Classification
- contested
Respondent
- Sector
- public sector
- Represented
- Yes
- Rep type
- barrister
Employment details
- Role
- Senior Environmental Control Officer
- Service
- 6 years
Claimant representation
- Represented
- No