Claimant v Hr Construction UK Limited — 2023

The tribunal refused the respondent's application for an extension of time to present a response. The response had been filed almost three weeks late, and the judge found no reasonable explanation for the delay. The respondent said he had been in Spain and had covid, but he had received the Tribunal correspondence and had no explanation for not dealing with the matter through February and the first week of March. The judge nevertheless allowed Mr Dymych to take part orally in the hearing so far as responding to the wages claims.

The tribunal found the claims for unlawful deduction from wages under section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 were well-founded. The respondent admitted that two months' notice pay had been promised and was owed to the claimants, and admitted that the second claimant's September 2022 salary and £16,000 bonus were contractually due. The respondent said the sums had not been paid because the company was in debt and had no current work project.

On limitation, the tribunal accepted that the second claimant's bonus claim was in time. It relied on an email dated 28 July 2022 in which the respondent acknowledged the debt and said it would be paid in "3 to 4 months". The tribunal treated the claim as being within three months of the last acknowledgment of the debt and the expiry of the promised payment period, following ACAS contact on 8 January 2023 and presentation of the complaint on 25 January 2023. The tribunal ordered payment of £11,200.00 net to the first claimant and £28,559.05 to the second claimant.