Mr S Joshua v HMP Wandsworth (part of HM Prison and Probation Service) — 2022

Mr S Joshua remained employed by HMP Wandsworth as a Prison Officer. He brought a claim that a series of payments for extra work at other HMP establishments, said to relate to April to July 2020, had not been paid. The Tribunal accepted that the last alleged deduction was on 31 August 2020, the last working day of that month, and that the claim therefore had to be presented within the statutory three-month period under s.23 Employment Rights Act 1996 unless time could be extended.

The Tribunal set out the two-stage test under s.23(4): whether it was reasonably practicable to present the claim in time, and, if not, whether it was presented within a reasonable further period. It referred to authorities including Palmer and Saunders, Schultz, Dedman, Porter and Westward Circuits when explaining the meaning of reasonable practicability and the need to consider the surrounding circumstances.

Mr Joshua said he was pursuing an internal procedure through the prison hierarchy and believed he could not approach ACAS or the Tribunal until that process was complete. The Tribunal accepted that he had followed that route, reaching the Governing Governor on 3 December 2020, but held that his understanding of the legal position was wrong. It found that he was aware of the proper external process because he did eventually contact ACAS, but he did so on 4 January 2021, after the primary time limit had expired on 30 November 2020.

The Tribunal concluded that it was not established that it had been not reasonably practicable to present the claim in time, and in any event the claim was not brought within a reasonable time after expiry of the primary limitation period. It therefore held that it had no jurisdiction to hear the unlawful deduction from wages claim and struck out the claim in its entirety. No monetary award was made.