JURISDICTIONAL POINTS – Claim in time and effective date of termination
Although the parties had proceeded on the basis that the effective date of termination of the Claimant’s employment had been 23 October 2015 (and, thus, that her claim of unfair dismissal had been presented to the ET in time), the ET found that the Respondent had told the Claimant that her contract had been brought to an end at an earlier date, on 1 September 2015. Notwithstanding this finding, the ET had gone on to hold that the effective date of termination of the Claimant’s employment was still 23 October and, therefore, that her claim had been presented in time. The Respondent appealed.Held: allowing the appeal
The effective date of termination was a statutory concept. Here the ET had found that the Claimant had been told that her contract of employment was at an end on 1 September 2015. That was effective to bring about the Claimant’s summary dismissal (Hogg v Dover College [1990] ICR 39 EAT applied). In the circumstances, the ET had erred by then going on to hold that the dismissal was not effective until 23 October 2015. The appeal would be allowed and the matter remitted to the ET to determine whether it had been reasonably practicable for the Claimant to lodge her claim in time or, if not, whether she had lodged it within such period as was reasonable thereafter.
Citations:
[2017] UKEAT 0049 – 17 – 2706
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Employment
Updated: 03 April 2022; Ref: scu.603710