Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Employment lawUnfair dismissal

Case of the week: John Lewis Partnership v Charman

by Sandra Wallace 8 Jun 2011
by Sandra Wallace 8 Jun 2011

John Lewis Partnership v Charman

FACTS

Mr Charman was summarily dismissed by John Lewis on 13 March 2010. He appealed and the appeal hearing took place on 24 May. On 28 June, he was sent a letter dismissing the appeal but, as he was abroad at the time, he did not find out about the dismissal until mid-July. On 21 July, Mr Charman presented a claim to the employment tribunal. The three-month time limit for presenting an unfair dismissal claim had expired on 12 June and the question arose as to whether or not the tribunal had jurisdiction to hear the claim.

DECISION

The employment tribunal held that it had not been reasonably practicable for Mr Charman to present a claim before the determination of his appeal and that he had presented the claim within a reasonable period after the determination of the appeal. The tribunal found that it had jurisdiction to hear the claim. John Lewis appealed. The EAT upheld the tribunal’s decision. An out-of-time unfair dismissal claim can proceed only if:




  • the tribunal is satisfied that it was not reasonably practicable for the complaint to be presented before the end of the three-month period; and
  • the claim was presented within a further period that the tribunal considers reasonable.

The EAT said that the starting point is that, if an employee is reasonably ignorant of the time limit, it cannot be said to be reasonably practicable for him to comply with it. In this case, Mr Charman was ignorant of the time limit; the question is whether or not that ignorance was reasonable. That is a question of fact for the employment tribunal to determine. A claimant’s ignorance will not be reasonable if he or she ought reasonably to have made enquiries about how to bring a tribunal claim before the relevant time limit expired.

The employment judge’s finding that it was reasonable in the circumstances for Mr Charman to defer investigating the possibility of taking legal action until after the outcome of the appeal was not perverse and could not be interfered with. In the circumstances, the judge’s finding that it was not reasonably practicable for the claim to be submitted before 21 July was “somewhat on the generous side” in respect of the further delay after the appeal decision, but also not perverse.

IMPLICATIONS

It will be rare that an individual will be able to rely solely on awaiting the outcome of an internal process to justify a delay in submitting a tribunal claim. There is clear authority that it will generally be reasonably practicable for an employee to commence tribunal proceedings while an internal appeal is pending.

However, the question is ultimately whether or not the individual was aware of the time limit for bringing a claim and, if not, whether or not that lack of awareness is reasonable. Where the individual has taken advice, whether from a lawyer or a trade union, he or she will generally be treated as being aware of the time limit.

In cases where the individual has received no advice, the reasonableness of lack of knowledge of the time limit for bringing a claim will depend on the particular circumstances. Reasonable practicability is a question of fact, so it is important that respondents take time to challenge any submissions made by a claimant that he or she was unaware of the relevant time limits involved, as the employment tribunal’s decision in this regard will be difficult to appeal once determined.

Sandra Wallace, employment practice, DLA Piper








Practical guidance from XpertHR on tribunal time limits



  • Time limits for bringing tribunal claims – dismissal Statutory rights are subject to time limits within which a complaint must be brought to an employment tribunal, as the XpertHR quick reference section explains.
  • How to respond to an employment tribunal claim The XpertHR “how to” section looks at how to respond to an employment tribunal claim, including practical advice on completing the ET3 form, issues to consider and pitfalls to avoid.
  • Going to tribunal: case study Sarah-Marie Williams of Clyde & Co continues a series of articles on going to tribunal with a case study that looks at the issue of time limits.

Avatar
Sandra Wallace

previous post
Job market growth hits seven-month low
next post
Talent crunch increases pressure on Asian firms

You may also like

Aspers casino cashier excluded by colleagues wins £75k...

23 May 2022

One in five employers planning ‘no jab no...

19 May 2022

MP demands timeline on carer’s leave legislation

13 May 2022

Queen’s Speech: absence of employment bill leaves organisations...

10 May 2022

Queen’s Speech: Exclusivity contracts for low-paid workers to...

9 May 2022

MP seeks legal protections for employees undergoing fertility...

9 May 2022

Solicitor unfairly dismissed during cancer recovery awarded £17k

6 May 2022

PwC staff to benefit from extended summer hours...

5 May 2022

A dark day for workers’ rights – why...

29 Apr 2022

P&O Ferries told to return £11m furlough money...

28 Apr 2022
  • The Search for Talent: Six Major Employer Pitfalls PROMOTED | The Great Resignation continues unabated...Read more
  • Navigating the widening “Skills Confidence Gap” in 2022, and beyond PROMOTED | Cornerstone OnDemand conducted a global study...Read more
  • Apprenticeships are the solution to your recruitment problems PROMOTED | Apprenticeships have the pulling power...Read more
  • What it really means to be mentally fit PROMOTED | What is mental fitness...Read more
  • How music can help to ease anxiety at work PROMOTED | A lot has happened since March 2020, hasn’t it?...Read more
  • Why now is the time to plug the unhealthy gap PROMOTED | We’ve all heard the term ‘health is wealth’...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+