Jason Elliott was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2013 and is the Associate Head of School of Law at Ulster University. As a practising barrister, he has developed a largely civil practice representing individuals, companies and public bodies in litigation. This covers a wide range of areas including personal injuries, wills and employment law. In terms of employment law, he has represented both applicants and respondents in the Industrial Tribunal. At Ulster University, Jason lectures extensively on the civil areas of practise such as Equity and Trusts and delivers employment law lectures for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Discrimination claim was brought out of time and it would be prejudicial to the respondent to extend time.
The claimant had been employed from January 2023 until December 2023 as a Distribution Deport Co-Ordinator. A further probationary period was added at the end of her first. The employment was brought to an end on 1st December 2023 at the end of that second probation period. The claimant did not appeal that outcome citing that she knew the outcome would be the same. The claimant did raise a series of concerns relating to discrimination, lack of training and allocation of customers. These were investigated with a finding that the incidents/allegations were not upheld.
In July 2024 the claimant lodged claims for unfair dismissal, race and disability discrimination. The unfair dismissal claim was later withdrawn. On 5th December 2023 the claimant had a complex medical operation and had complications in the early stages of recovery. The claimant stated this prevented her from lodging the claim within the time limits.
The issue was whether the claim would be accepted even though it was lodged out of time. The Tribunal found that the claimant had been given advice from the LRA to lodge the claim immediately but the claimant continued to choose when she would lodge it. Additionally, the claimant was able to have input into a Dignity at Work investigation post-employment as well as being able to secure employment in a period at which the claim could have been submitted. As a result, it was held that time could not be extended as it was not just and equitable to the respondent as they would have to re-investigate matters and would prejudice their ability to defend the claims.
Another time limits case before the Tribunal. In this case the claimant had an operation, and complications did not mean that time could just be extended. The Tribunal looks beyond that into what the claimant was aware of and should have been able to do. As the claimant was able to seek some advice on the matter, able to secure employment and be involved in a Dignity at Work investigation it demonstrated how she should have been able to lodge her claim on time.
You can find the case here.
Continue reading
We help hundreds of people like you understand how the latest changes in employment law impact your business.
Please log in to view the full article.
What you'll get:
- Help understand the ramifications of each important case from NI, GB and Europe
- Ensure your organisation's policies and procedures are fully compliant with NI law
- 24/7 access to all the content in the Legal Island Vault for research case law and HR issues
- Receive free preliminary advice on workplace issues from the employment team
Already a subscriber? Log in now or start a free trial