Labour Court upholds decision that Loui Osman’s unfair-dismissal complaint was out of time

The Labour Court upheld the adjudication officer’s decision to decline jurisdiction over Mr Loui Osman’s unfair-dismissal complaint against Fyffes Tropical Ireland Ltd after it was referred one day late. The Court’s decision was dated 28 March 2024. The merits were not decided. Osman was dismissed on 10 March 2022. His contract allowed Fyffes to pay in lieu of notice, and he received two months’ pay in lieu. The Court found his dismissal date was 10 March, giving him until 9 September 2022 to refer his complaint. The WRC received it on 10 September. Osman argued that his notice period should extend the dismissal date and that his understanding of WRC guidance explained the delay. The Court rejected the notice argument and found that misunderstanding the statutory time limit did not amount to reasonable cause to extend time.