This case focuses on the importance of bringing a claim of unfair dismissal within the requisite time frame. The Complainant was employed by the Respondent company from the 14th of October 2013 to the 5th of December 2017 when he resigned. He did not submit his claims under the Unfair Dismissals Act and the Terms of Employment (Information) Act until the 6th of September 2018. This, the Respondent argued, was outside the time frame (6 months which may be extended to 12 months in exceptional circumstances) that was outlined in the Acts and therefore should not be upheld.

The Complainant had chosen to represent himself at the hearing. In his submission, he maintained that he had legitimate reasons to explain why he did not submit his claims within the time limit. There was the issue of his stepdaughter’s father passing away which was closely followed by another death in the family.

A short time afterwards, his stepdaughter was hospitalised due to a misuse in medication. The Complainant was then hospitalised himself as he required treatment. Additionally, there had been a leak which allegedly destroyed half of the Complainant’s house.

In reaching its decision, the Adjudication Officer noted the unfortunate chain of events which took place after the Complainant had resigned and acknowledged how they could have a detrimental effect on the Complainant’s ability to manage his responsibilities.

However, it was established that the Complainant had in fact made contact with his employer approximately one week after offering his resignation to obtain records in order to claim benefits from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. Crucially, the Complainant had “failed to establish a causal connection between the factors relied upon by him and the delay in presenting the within claim”. Therefore, the court held that the Complainant’s claims were out of date and statute barred.
https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/cases/2019/april/adj-00016633.html