Time limits

Time limits for presenting tribunal claims are usually quite strictly enforced. However, the law says that claims on the grounds of unfair dismissal can be extended where it was not "reasonably practicable" to have presented the claim in time. The issue of whether or not something is reasonably practicable is essentially for the tribunal itself to decide. The tests it uses are: was it reasonably feasible to present the claim in time?; and was it reasonably practicable to have done so, even though it might be reasonable not to have done so?

The fact that someone might be ignorant of the time limit is not enough to make the tribunal extend it, unless the ignorance or mistaken belief is itself reasonable (GMB v Hamm EAT/246/00). Nor does the fact that there is still an internal appeal in progress provide sufficient reason not to present a claim in time (Robinson v Post Office [2000] IRLR 804).