GMB Trade Union

Case Summary

A union member employed by Asda Stores Limited claimed he was unjustifiably disciplined by GMB Trade Union for being denied legal support with an alleged whistleblowing claim against his employer. The tribunal struck out the claim as having no reasonable prospects of success because it was brought out of time, finding that the determination not to provide support was made on 15 August 2023, and the claim presented on 27 November 2024 was more than 12 months late with no exceptional circumstances justifying the delay.

The tribunal found that time began to run on 15 August 2023 when the union communicated its decision not to provide litigation support, and the claim was presented more than 12 months later on 27 November 2024. The tribunal rejected the claimant's argument of a rolling detriment, finding instead that the determination was made at a fixed point and the consequences were merely ongoing. The claimant failed to demonstrate it was not reasonably practicable to claim in time and failed to establish exceptional circumstances justifying the significant delay.

Use these claim-type pages to compare this decision with other published tribunal cases, outcome patterns, and visible award data.

• •Whether claimant's claim under section 64 Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 for unjustifiable discipline was brought within the statutory time limit of three months
• •Whether the claimant's alleged deprivation of access to union legal support and benefits constituted unjustifiable discipline
• •Whether there was a rolling detriment or continuing act, or whether the determination was made at a fixed point in time

Case No. 2407351/2024 EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS Claimant: Mr I MacFarlane Respondent: GMB Trade Union HELD AT: Manchester (in person) ON: 27 January 2026 BEFORE: Employment Judge Peck (sitting alone) REPRESENTATION: Claimant: Respondent: For himself Mr L Bronze (Counsel) JUDGMENT 1. The claimant’s claim that he was unjustifiably disciplined under section 64 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 is struck out under rule 38(1)(a) of the Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024 because it has no reasonable prospects of success, having been brought out of time. 2. The preliminary hearing (case management) listed for 5 October 2026 is therefore vacated. Case No. 2407351/2024 REASONS Introduction and Background 1. This was an in person preliminary hearing on 27 January 2026. 2. By a claim form presented on 27 November 2024 the claimant seeks to pursue a claim against the respondent under section 64 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA), alleging that he was unjustifiably disciplined. He relies on section 64(2)(d), alleging that a determination was made that “he should be deprived to any extent of, or of access to, any benefits, services or facilities which would otherwise be provided or made available to him by virtue of his membership of the union, or a branch or section of the union”. 3. The claimant is not employed by the respondent. He has been employed by Asda Stores Limited for 22 years. He has been a member of the respondent since 22 March 2020. 4. In broad terms, the claimant is critical of (and highly dissatisfied with) the respondent for not supporting him in litigation against his employer (relating to an alleged whistleblowing claim). 5. In his claim form, he states that issues started in November 2022 (when he first requested …