Beverley Morrison v London Borough of Southwark — 2023

The claimant complained about the respondent's alleged failure to enrol her in its pension scheme following a TUPE transfer in 2020 and about an incorrect calculation of holiday entitlement. The respondent accepted that a payroll software error had led to the claimant being enrolled and then un-enrolled from the pension scheme. The Tribunal found the pension issue appeared to be a matter for the respondent's internal dispute mechanism and then the Pensions Ombudsman; the claimant withdrew that complaint, and it was dismissed upon withdrawal.

The Tribunal found it had no jurisdiction to hear a breach of contract claim because the claimant remained employed and such a claim could only be heard by the Tribunal where it arose or was outstanding on termination of employment and was brought within the relevant time limit. It also found employer pension contributions were not wages, so the pension contribution complaint could not proceed as an unauthorised deduction from wages claim. The holiday entitlement issue was also outside the Tribunal's jurisdiction because it was, on the findings, only a breach of contract complaint.

The respondent applied for costs, arguing that the claimant had acted unreasonably or that the claims had no or little reasonable prospects of success. The Tribunal refused costs. It found the claimant had not acted unreasonably, including because an earlier offer had been sent to an old email address and she was a litigant in person, and it declined to exercise its discretion to award costs despite finding the complaints lacked reasonable prospects because of the jurisdiction issue.