Many of you will be aware that an employee should make contact with the ACAS Early Conciliation Service before submitting a tribunal claim. The case of Pryce v Baxterstorey Ltd puts beyond doubt that this contact must be made in advance of submission.
Rejecting the appeal, the EAT held that:
Rejecting the appeal, the EAT held that:
- The Claimant’s sending of the certificate could not be considered a “re-presentation” of the claim since rule 8 of the ET Rules required a completed ET1 be sent to the tribunal; and
There was no jurisdiction to waive the requirement to present a new claim which post-dated the date of the early conciliation certificate. To do otherwise would undermine the express provisions of s18A(8) Employment Tribunals Act 1996.In this case, the Claimant had lodged an ET1 (tribunal claim) without first obtaining an early conciliation certificate number. A few days later, she sent an email to the tribunal enclosing a copy of a certificate she had obtained in the meantime. Though initially allowed to proceed, her claims were later dismissed by the tribunal for lack of jurisdiction.