05 Feb When Will An Extension Be Granted to Time Limit To Bring Employment Claim ?

The Labour Court determined in a recent referral (ref EET 146) that medical evidence supplied by the claimant provided sufficient grounds to allow her to bring a complaint under the Employment Equality Acts 1998 – 2011 despite lodging her complaint three days late.

The claimant alleged that she has been harassed by her employer but did not submit her claim to the Equality Tribunal within six months of the date of the most recent occurrence of the alleged complaint as legally required. The claimant applied to the Labour Court to have the time limit extended in order to allow her claim to be heard and provided medical evidence from her GP that she had been suffering from depression and anxiety during the relevant period in which to claim and that this impacted on her ability to make decisions and concentrate and she was therefore not medically fit to exercise her rights.

The employer responded to say that the claimant had written three letters to them about her employment claims during the period in question and that indicated that she should have been capable of initiating her complaint within the relevant statutory period, and that she also had access to legal advice during this period.

The Labour Court determined that the claimant’s medical status provided clear “reasonable cause” to allow the statutory six month time limit in which a claim must be brought to be extended.