Time limits in the context of unfair dismissal claims go to jurisdiction, and that jurisdiction cannot be conferred on a tribunal by agreement or waiver. However, There is nothing to prevent the time bar issue in relation to a particular act being determined after a full hearing. Here, the point on jurisdiction was not heard until after the tribunal had considered the merits of the case.
Sir John Donaldson said: ‘Mr Mitchell, for the appellant, has given us every possible assistance. He has considered this matter very carefully and finally come up with two arguments, and they are these. First, in his submission, once a tribunal has reached a conclusion as to whether a man has been fairly or unfairly dismissed, it is too late to raise the time bar point. As to that, the major difficulty in his way is the decision of this Court in Westward Circuits Ltd v Read [1973] IRLR 138. There the Court held that bearing in mind the wording of para. 5 of the Sixth Schedule to the 1971 Act, the time limit must be regarded and interpreted as a jurisdictional provision – which of course the parties cannot waive – and not as a limitation provision which they can waive or may be stopped from taking’
Judges:
Sir John Donaldson
Citations:
[1973] IRLR 172
Cited by:
Approved – Dedman v British Building and Engineering Appliances CA 1973
The claimant sought to bring his claim under a provision which required a complaint to the industrial tribunal to be made within four weeks of the dismissal unless the employment tribunal was satisfied that this was not ‘practicable’. He did not . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Employment
Updated: 18 May 2022; Ref: scu.503461