Ms Catalina Mosquera Alvarez v Amazing Services Group Ltd — 2022

Ms Catalina Mosquera Alvarez brought a claim for arrears of pay and unauthorised deduction from wages, arising from an alleged wrongful tax deduction in December 2021 and a failure to pay wages for January 2022. The Respondent did not present an ET3 or take part in the hearing, and an email from the Respondent's HR Administrator on 21 April 2022 stated that the sums identified as owing were correct and that payment would be made on 7 May 2022.

The Tribunal found that the relevant latest trigger date for limitation was 5 February 2022 and that the three-month time limit therefore expired on 4 May 2022. ACAS early conciliation did not begin until 17 May 2022, and the ET1 was presented on 24 May 2022, so the claim was out of time. Applying the reasonable practicability test under the ERA 1996, the Tribunal accepted that the Claimant and her union had chased payment and had relied on the Respondent's assurance, but held that this did not make it not reasonably practicable to present the ET1 in time.

The Tribunal noted that the Claimant knew the wages had not been paid by the due dates, that she had corresponded with the Respondent in February and March 2022, and that her union representative was aware of the deadline. It held that the ET1 should have been submitted before 4 May 2022 to protect the Claimant's position while awaiting the promised payment date of 7 May 2022. Because the limitation issue was not overcome, the Tribunal held that it had no jurisdiction to consider the claim and did not need to decide whether the claim had been brought within a further reasonable period.