Did not attend For the v Mr Bord (Director — 2021

At Bristol on 8 April 2021, Employment Judge J Bax heard a preliminary issue in the claimant's absence after refusing a postponement application. The tribunal was dealing with an invoice for work done for the respondent between 18 April 2016 and 7 July 2016, later correspondence about an alleged shortfall, and a holiday pay complaint that had not been particularised in the claim form.

The tribunal found that the claimant knew by 17 May 2017 that he had a claim and that there was no physical impediment, misrepresentation, or other reason making it not reasonably practicable to present the claims in time. It noted that the claimant had been paid on 20 January 2017, had emailed on 17 May 2017 saying he had six years to claim, and did not start ACAS early conciliation until 25 January 2020.

For the unlawful deduction from wages claim, the tribunal held that the latest relevant payment date was 16 May 2017, so the three-month time limit expired on 17 August 2017. The claim form presented on 3 February 2020 was therefore about 2 years 6 months late, and time was not extended. The tribunal also applied s.23(4A) of the Employment Rights Act 1996, which in any event prevented it from considering deductions where the payment date was more than two years before presentation.

The tribunal also held that any holiday pay and breach of contract claims, treated as arising no later than the claimant's removal from the respondent's books in September 2017, should have been presented by the end of December 2017. Because those claims were also out of time and the tribunal found it was reasonably practicable to present them in time, all claims were struck out for lack of jurisdiction.