Represented himself For the v Respondent — 2024

The claimant, Stephen Moody, brought a claim under section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 for commission said to be due on the LG Energy deal. The tribunal found that the relevant entitlement depended on the termination letter of 26 May 2023, which stated that after garden leave the claimant could receive 50% commission on deals for which he remained 'actively involved' during the garden leave period. The parties agreed that the deal closed in September 2023 and that, had commission been due, it would have been paid in October 2023.

On time limits, the tribunal found that the primary limitation period expired on 29 January 2024. It accepted that the claimant did not know the deal had closed until he saw a case study on 26 January 2024 and obtained confirmation from the respondent on 29 January 2024, so it was not reasonably practicable for him to present the claim before the primary deadline. However, the tribunal held that the further delay was not reasonable. It found that the claimant knew the respondent's position by 2 February 2024, had considered legal advice by 30 January 2024, notified ACAS on 15 February 2024, received the certificate on 21 March 2024, and did not present the claim until 22 April 2024. For that reason, the claim was dismissed as out of time.

The tribunal also dealt with the substantive issue and found that, even if the claim had been in time, the claimant was not entitled to commission on the LG Energy deal. It held that 'active involvement' required more than handover notes and brief emails checking whether the deal had closed. The claimant could not identify any concrete advice, discussions, or actions on the LG Energy deal during garden leave, did not communicate with the client or with the respondent's lead on the deal, and was not involved in the trip to Korea or the work done by the respondent's team. The tribunal therefore found that he had not been 'actively involved' in the deal during the garden leave period and was not entitled to commission after closure.