When bringing a claim for unfair dismissal, an employee has 3 months to lodge a claim to the Employment Tribunal from the “effective date of termination” (or EDT). This time limit can be extended by virtue of the process of ACAS Early Conciliation.
The case of Cosmeceuticals Ltd v Parkin demonstrates that, where an employer has dismissed an employee without notice (where notice should have been given) and subsequently tries to correct this by providing notice, it is the original date that counts for the purposes of the effective date of termination.
For employers, this case could be supportive of argument that a claim should be struck out for being out of time. For employees, it serves as a warning to ensure a claim is submitted at the earliest opportunity to avoid a claim being struck out.
