Mr J Mears v DC Emergency Systems Ltd — 2022

Mr J Mears brought a claim against DC Emergency Systems Ltd for a series of unauthorised deductions from wages, arising from the failure to include overtime in his furlough pay between 1 April 2020 and 31 July 2021. The Tribunal joined case numbers 2415100/2021 and 2415109/2021 and treated the second claim form as a replica of the first. The Tribunal accepted that the claimant had been on furlough from 1 April 2020, later on flexible furlough, and that he had raised the overtime issue with the respondent during 2020 and again by grievance in March 2021.

The Tribunal held that the last alleged deduction in the series was the July 2021 pay period, that ACAS early conciliation began on 11 October 2021, and that the ACAS certificate was issued on 1 November 2021. Applying the time limit in section 23 ERA 1996 and the extension for early conciliation under section 207B ERA 1996, it found that the limitation period expired on 1 December 2021. The claim was not presented until 7 December 2021, so it was six days late.

The Tribunal further found that it was reasonably practicable for the claimant to present the claim in time. It relied on the fact that the claimant said he knew by around January 2021 that he could bring a tribunal claim, had already gathered evidence, had raised and pursued a grievance, and had no outstanding internal appeal to await. It also found that once the ACAS certificate was issued he still had about a month to present the claim, and rejected his explanation that he had sent the claim to Ireland and had not checked his emails. Because the claim was not presented in time and it was reasonably practicable to do so, the Tribunal dismissed the claim for lack of jurisdiction.