Ms Jacqueline Cross v NHS Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Judge | Judge Crowther |
| Court | Employment Appeal Tribunal |
| Published date | 08 March 2024 |
Judgment approved by the court Cross v NHS Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group
© EAT 2024 Page 1 [2024] EAT 20
Neutral Citation Number: [2024] EAT 20
Case No: EA-2022-001075-NLD
IN THE EMPLOYMENT APPEAL TRIBUNAL
Rolls Building
Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1NL
Date: 3 January 2024
Before:
MS SARAH CROWTHER KC
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Between:
MS JACQUELINE CROSS
Claimant /
Appellant
- and -
NHS SOMERSET CLINCAL COMMISSIONING
GROUP
Respondent
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MS L MILLIN (through Direct Access) for the Claimant / Appellant
MS H WINSTONE (instructed by Bevan Brittain) for the Respondent
Hearing date: 3 January 2024
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JUDGMENT
Judgment approved by the court Cross v NHS Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group
© EAT 2024 Page 2 [2024] EAT 20
SUMMARY
JURISDICTIONAL/TIME POINTS, UNFAIR DISMISSAL
1. The Claimant, a litigant in person at the relevant times, genuinely but mistakenly
believed, following a telephone conversation with an officer from ACAS, that she
needed to await the outcome of her grievance before starting any tribunal proceedings.
In fact, by the time the respondent provided its delayed grievance response, the
conciliation certificate had expired and the claimant was out of time to present a tribunal
claim for unfair dismissal.
2. The Employment Judge erred in his consideration of whether the claimant’s mistaken
belief was reasonable and therefore the Judge’s determination of whether it was
reasonably practicable for the claimant to have brought her tribunal claim in time for
the purposes of section 111(2) Employment Rights Act 1996 is set aside and remitted
to a different Tribunal for consideration.
3. The comments of Cavanagh J in Cygnet Behavioural Health Limited v Britton [2022]
EAT 108 do not change the principles of interpretation of section 111(2) as long
established. Substantial numbers of the reported cases on this section are examples of
applications of the established principles to the facts of the particular case.
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