On 28 January Ms Horwood wrote a letter of immediate resignation to her employer. The letter was received the next day and date stamped 29 January, but wasn't read until 2 February. The employer wrote to Ms Horwood confirming 2 February as the effective date of termination (EDT).
When Ms Horwood lodged her tribunal claim on 29 April, the employer relied on the EDT being 29 January and argued that her claim was out of time – it was a day late. The employment tribunal found in the employer's favour, agreeing that 29 April was the EDT.
Ms Horwood appealed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) but to no avail. The EAT said that EDT was 29 April and it hadn't been varied by the employer. In cases where an employee is resigning, as opposed to being dismissed, then the EDT is the date on which the resignation is communicated to the employer. Contrast that with a summary dismissal where the EDT would be the date on which the employee reads and digests the employer's letter.
But in this case, where the resignation was unequivocal, the EDT was the date the letter was received and date stamped. It didn't matter that the employer had confirmed a different date (2 February) as the EDT. That was ineffective because the EDT was fixed by the legal definition and couldn't be changed.
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