Ms M Harrison v Barts Health NHS Trust DECISION The Claimant’s application to amend her claim dated 4th May 2020 is refused. — 2020

The Claimant applied on 4 May 2020 to amend her existing claim to add a new claim for unlawful deductions from wages arising from reductions in sick pay in December 2019 and January 2020, when her pay was reduced to half pay. The tribunal accepted that, although no formal draft amendment was provided, the substance of the proposed claim was clear from the application and the later email with payslips.

The tribunal held that the proposed claim was out of time by the date of the amendment application and that the Claimant had not explained why it was not reasonably practicable to bring it within the statutory time limit in s23(2) Employment Rights Act 1996. It noted that she had been back at work between 3 February 2020 and 25 March 2020, during which period her pay returned to normal, and found that no extension of time should be granted.

On the merits, the tribunal recorded that the Claimant did not address the point made at the preliminary hearing that her pay had been reduced from 15 December 2019 under the Respondent's sickness policy, which provided for a reduction in sick pay after a certain period. The tribunal also noted that she did not say she disagreed that the Respondent had power to do this. Applying Selkent Bus Co v Moore and the balance of injustice/relative hardship test from Cocking v Sandhurst, it found that the proposed claim was not arguable on the merits and refused the amendment.