Mrs Margaret Loveday v Essex County Council — 2020

The Claimant brought a claim for unauthorised deduction from wages, saying a deduction had been taken from her redundancy payment after her employment ended. The Respondent applied at the final hearing to strike out the claim for want of jurisdiction, arguing that payments referable to redundancy are excluded from the statutory definition of wages.

The Tribunal found that the jurisdiction point had been raised unacceptably late and noted the Claimant had no advance notice of it. It also recorded concerns about errors in the Respondent's correspondence and payroll processes, but held that those matters did not affect the Tribunal's jurisdiction.

The Tribunal concluded that the deduction was from a redundancy payment and therefore was not a deduction from wages within s 27 Employment Rights Act 1996. It also stated that even if the claim were amended to breach of contract, the Tribunal would lack jurisdiction because any breach arose after termination. The claim was struck out for want of jurisdiction, with the Claimant permitted to apply for costs or preparation time within 28 days.