Cranwell v Cullen
This case in the Employment Appeals Tribunal was to decide whether an employment tribunal can hear a claim if the ACAS early conciliation requirements have not been met. The EAT said No.
Background
In this case the facts were straight forward. The Claimant put in a claim to an employment tribunal without previously complying with the requirement, in s.18A of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996, to supply prescribed information to ACAS. No statutory exemption from this requirement applied on the facts of the case. The Employment Judge rejected the claim on this ground. The EAT upheld that decision.
However, to be honest on the face of this is quite a sad case. If her allegations were true, the Claimant had been appallingly treated, including being sexually harassed. She may have thought ACAS conciliation meant having to talk to the person meting out the treatment. And she had an interdict (injunction) out against the employer. But outside the permitted exemptions the Employment Judge had no choice. The requirement for ACAS early Conciliation was absolute and strict. There was nothing in the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure that allowed discretion, even in a case which attracted the fullest sympathy of the Employment Judge.
Comment: This case shows that any potential claimant MUST use the early conciliation process before proceeding to litigation, no matter what. In effect this is good news for employers as it means that from a strategic point of view the former employee having to go through this process is an ideal opportunity for the employer to actually resolve any problems at an early stage in a more practical and cost effect manner. And if the potential claimant doesn’t go through the process (or does do but procedurally get it wrong – see the next case of Sterling v United Learning Trust) the claim cannot proceed.
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