Mr W Trodd v Southampton City Council — 2024

Mr W Trodd had been employed by Southampton City Council as an HGV driver since 21 April 1986 and remained employed at the date of the hearing. His ET1 said drivers in refuse, street cleaning and parks had historically been on grade 6, but HGV drivers in refuse had been upgraded to grade 7 after a job evaluation in August 2022, which he considered unfair.

Employment Judge Midgley had already issued case management orders explaining that, on the face of the papers, the claim appeared to be about wages the claimant thought he should have received if his role had been evaluated at a higher grade. The judge explained that such a complaint was not a claim for unauthorised deductions from wages, because it did not concern sums paid less than sums properly payable under the contract, and it could not be brought as a breach of contract claim because the claimant was still employed and the contract had not ended.

At the hearing on 12 July 2024, Employment Judge Volkmer explained that the tribunal is a statutory tribunal and only has jurisdiction where a claim falls within the relevant legislation. The claimant did not identify any legal claim the tribunal could determine, and his response to the tribunal's directions did not add any new legal basis or materially different facts. The tribunal said it had no jurisdiction to hear complaints about the outcome of a job evaluation unless there was an allegation of unlawful discrimination under the Equality Act 2010, which was not the claimant's case.

The claim was therefore dismissed because it did not identify any complaint which the Employment Tribunal had jurisdiction to determine. No monetary remedy was awarded.