Mr P Wilson v Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs Heard via Cloud Video Platform (London Central) — 2022

The claimant brought claims of unlawful deduction from wages, direct age discrimination, disability discrimination, victimisation, and failure to make reasonable adjustments. The tribunal dealt first with limitation and jurisdiction. It found that the final act of discrimination pleaded was the transfer to another team on 4 January 2021, that early conciliation started on 14 September 2021, that the EC certificate issued on 29 September 2021, and that the ET1 was filed on 26 October 2021.

On the wages claim, the claimant accepted that the amount claimed for 2017 had already been paid and matched the schedule of loss, so nothing remained outstanding for that year. The tribunal held that the claims for earlier years were outside its jurisdiction because the alleged deductions were more than two years before the claim was lodged under section 23(4A) of ERA. It also held that the wages claim was late and that there was no evidence that it had not been reasonably practicable to present it in time.

On the discrimination claims, the tribunal held that they were out of time and refused to extend time on a just and equitable basis. It treated the delay as significant, noting that the claimant should have raised any claim with ACAS in early April 2021, that the grievance and appeal process ended on 10 May 2021, that he was aware of ACAS by 6 July 2021 at the latest, and that he still delayed before contacting ACAS and presenting the ET1. The tribunal referred to Robertson v Bexley Community Centre [2003] IRLR 434 and noted that raising a grievance does not automatically justify an extension of time, citing Wells Cathedral School Ltd v Souter EA 2020.