Louise Davey v Alliance in Partnership — 2022

The claimant, Louise Davey, brought a claim for unauthorised deduction from wages against Alliance in Partnership. She did not attend the remote hearing on 13 July 2022, having told the tribunal that morning that she would not be attending, and Judge Bennett proceeded in her absence under Rule 47. The tribunal considered the written material submitted by the claimant, including an email explaining why the claim had been lodged late.

The tribunal found that the claimant’s employment ended on 31 August 2021 and that, under s23(2) of the Employment Rights Act 1996, the relevant deadline for presenting the claim or starting ACAS early conciliation was 30 November 2021. The claimant did not contact ACAS or the tribunal until 12 April 2022, more than four months late. The judge accepted that she had tried to resolve matters informally with the respondent, but noted that she had not raised a formal grievance and had known about the unpaid overtime issue for a significant period.

The tribunal concluded that the claim was significantly out of time and that it had not been shown that it was not reasonably practicable for the complaint to be presented within the relevant period. The judge also found that the claimant could reasonably have contacted her union representative earlier and would likely have become aware of the time limits. The claim was therefore dismissed for want of jurisdiction, regardless of any substantive merit.