Size of claim form

Case 5: The facts

Claire Grant faxed her claim form to a tribunal within the three-month time limit. The tribunal secretary rejected it, saying it was not on the "prescribed form", but gave no further explanation. Grant completed and faxed a new form which the tribunal had sent her; this was rejected for the same reason, but again no further explanation was given. The tribunal refused to accept Grant's claim, and she appealed.

The ruling

The only explanation that the parties could come up with for the tribunal's rejection of the claim form was that it had shrunk slightly during the faxing process. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) said that a tribunal secretary who rejects a claim must give the claimant an explanation so that s/he can resubmit a claim on the proper form. In this case, the inadequate response left Grant "wholly bemused" as to why her forms had been rejected. The EAT pointed out that faxing is a legitimate way of lodging a claim, and held that a reduction in size must be acceptable if this is a result of the faxing process. In any event, it said, size is not an essential feature of the prescribed form. Grant's claim was allowed to proceed.

Grant v In 2 Focus Sales Development Services Ltd EAT/0310/06