Time limits
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Time limits in employment claims generally
Time limits in employment claims generally can be very strict and many an employee has come unstuck due to these rules. Often the time limits are 3 months. The justification for such strict time limits is that it is impossible to have a fair trial once people start to forget what happened. In practice this seems wrong because in the ordinary civil courts, like the County Court or the High Court, time limits are 6 years. In our opinion, the real reason is likely to be a practical one to stop the flow of cases which have to be decided.
3 months time limit in unfair & constructive dismissal
The 3 months time limit in unfair dismissal claim is very strictly enforced, and the only exception is whereby it was not ‘reasonably practical’ to issue a claim within 3 months from the date of dismissal. Examples include where the employee was ill or in hospital. So if you have resigned or been dismissed and you are negotiating a compromise agreement, but time is slipping away, make sure that you issue your ET1 before 3 months after your last day.
3 months time limit in discrimination claims
In discrimination claims, there is slightly more flexibility with the 3 month time limits. The tribunals can extend this time limit where is is ‘just and equitable’ to do so. This might be, for example, because the employee was ill with stress caused by the employer’s conduct. The employer would not be allowed to benefit from its wrongdoing by benefitting from a 3 month time limit.
Personal injury claims
Generally personal injury claims have a time limit on them of 3 years from the date of injury or the date of knowledge of the injury. There are some exceptions to this, for example in sexual abuse cases, but they are rare.
When does contractual notice take effect ?
Contractual notice, whether given orally or in writing, takes effect from the day after the notice is given, unless the contract says otherwise.
In the case of Dr T Wang v University of Keele, Dr Wang was sent an email at 4.40pm on 3 November 2008 attaching a letter dismissing him with three months notice. On 2 May 2009 Dr Wang submitted a Tribunal claim in response to his dismissal. However, he lost his case as the Judge believed his claim was made outside the statutory time limit of 3 months from the date of termination. The Judge stated that his notice took effect from the date he received and opened the notice email, not the day after he was served.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled that, unless there is a provision in an employee s contract that notice is to take immediate effect from the date it is served, notice will take effect from the following day. This applies to any notice whether it is given orally, in writing, in person or electronically. Even if it is served out of office hours it will take effect from the following day.
This case helps where the termination date is important, for example, where your employer wants to try to terminate employment before have the one year s service required to bring an ordinary unfair dismissal claim. The case also helps you to calculate when to submit a Tribunal claim. In Dr Wang s case, the decision meant his claim was in time.
What to do if you are out of time
If you’ve missed your time limits and you don’t have a valid exception then you still may be able to bring a claim in the civil courts for breach of contract, harassment or personal injury. It is mainly just unfair dismissal and discrimination claims which you can only bring in the employment tribunals (rather than the civil courts).
You might want to get a rough idea of the value of your case by filling in the Compromise Calculator. Also think about getting some representation have a look at the Employee Experiences to see how others in your situation were helped on their journey.
If you want help with time limits or if you have any other compromise agreement query, including how to get representation at no up front cost, email us on info@compromiseagree.com, call us 0800 533 5134 or send a message in the box to the bottom right.
