Claimant v Seasalt Limited

Outcome

Facts

The claimant was employed as a paid social media assistant manager from October 2017 until her dismissal for redundancy on 4 March 2024. She notified ACAS on 24 May 2024 and received her early conciliation certificate on 11 June 2024. On that date, her ACAS conciliator emailed her with information about time limits which incorrectly stated she would have 30 days plus any time remaining from the original three-month period. The claimant, who was preparing for her wedding and had limited financial resources following her dismissal, relied on this information and calculated a deadline of 22 July 2024. She submitted her claim on 19 July 2024, believing it to be in time. The respondent argued the correct statutory deadline was 11 July 2024.

Decision

The tribunal found that the claimant's complaint was presented outside the statutory time limit (which expired 11 July 2024 after applying s.207B of the Employment Rights Act 1996). However, it was not reasonably practicable for the claimant to have presented her claim in time because she had reasonably relied on incorrect advice from her ACAS conciliator regarding the calculation of time limits. The tribunal distinguished this case from Dedman and found the claimant, as a litigant in person with no legal knowledge and limited resources, had acted reasonably in relying on the ACAS advice. The claim was presented within a reasonable further period and will proceed to a full hearing.

Practical note

Legal authorities cited