How long can a disgruntled ex-employee wait, before filing a claim?
If the claim is one that can be brought to the Employment Tribunal, it must in most cases be brought within three months of the date of dismissal. The Employment Tribunal has the discretion to extend time if the employee can show that it was not reasonably practicable to present the claim within the three-month period. If the claim is one that can be brought in the civil courts (ie breach of contract – see question one), an employee has six years to claim. The court has discretion to extend time in some situations. Time can be extended in discrimination cases, when to do so would be ‘just and equitable’. The Employment Appeals Tribunal has also ruled that Tribunals have discretion to allow discrimination cases to proceed, even though the grievances to which they relate were not submitted until after the end of the initial three-month period – provided they were submitted within one month of the end of that time.
