What is the EDT?

The Effective Date of Termination (EDT) is the date your employment ended and is laid out in s97 ERA 1996. It is very important in unfair dismissal because it sets the end of your period of continuous employment and is used to determine whether you have the two years qualifying period of employment necessary to claim unfair dismissal. The EDT affects how much you get for the Basic Award and for calculating a week’s pay. You must bring your claim before the Employment Tribunal within three months of the EDT. The EDT is not always the date when you are told you have been dismissed, and it can vary depending on the particular situation.

EDT where you are dismissed with notice

If you are dismissed with notice by your Employer, the EDT is when the notice expires according to s97 (1)(a) ERA 1996. The 3 months to file your case in the Employment Tribunal starts running from the day after your notice period ends.   Under s111(3) ERA 1996, if you are dismissed with notice you can bring your Employment Tribunal claim before the EDT as long as you bring your claim after notice has been given by your Employer.

EDT where you are dismissed without notice (Summary Dismissal)

Under s97(1)(b) ERA 1996  if you are dismissed without notice, the EDT is the date when you are dismissed. If you are on a fixed term contract which is not renewed the EDT is when the fixed term expires (s97 (1)(c) ERA 1996). In Kirklees Metropolitan Council v Radecki CA 2009, the Court said that dismissal without notice takes effect at the precise moment it is communicated.

EDT where you resign (constructive dismissal)

If you resign and claim constructive dismissal the same principles mentioned above in dismissals with notice, and without notice will apply. So, if you give notice, the EDT is when the notice expires. If you do not give notice the EDT is the date you left the workplace for good.

Payment in Lieu of notice (PILON)

This where your Employer pays you for your notice period but you don’t have to work. The EDT is the date you are paid up to. This is when the notice expires.

Appeals & Disciplinary Procedures

You must be very careful here because if you appeal your dismissal and you are not successful, the original date of your dismissal will still stand. If the length of the appeal procedures takes more than 3 months you would not be able to claim unfair dismissal, because you would be out of time. Take the EDT and work out the date by which your Employment Tribunal claim should be submitted. It’s a good idea to start  ACAS Early Conciliation as soon as possible whilst you are waiting to exhaust your Employer’s appeal procedures. This is because time stops running during the ACAS Conciliation process.

Time is frozen from the day after ACAS receives your application for Early Conciliation  until the day you receive your Early Conciliation Certificate. You will have about one month from the date you receive the Early Conciliation Certificate in which to file your claim in the Employment Tribunal.

Extending the EDT

If your Employer gives you less notice than the statutory minimum under s86 ERA 1996, the Employment Tribunal has the power to extend your EDT in order to calculate your qualifying period of employment under s97(2) and s108(1) ERA 1996.  The Employment Tribunal will not extend the EDT if your Employer is able to prove that they were entitled to summarily dismiss you.