Mr B Pownall Mr S Caspall v E.On Control Solutions Limited — 2018

The hearing was a preliminary jurisdictional application about early conciliation and the use of multiple claim forms. The tribunal accepted that Matrix Control Solutions Limited and E.On Control Solutions Limited were the same respondent under its later name, and it recorded that Mr Caspall had first contacted ACAS and obtained an early conciliation certificate before presenting his claims. The tribunal also noted that several claim forms had been presented in June and July 2018, and that the July form was out of time if considered on its own.

The tribunal held that only the first early conciliation certificate was effective for stopping the clock under section 207B ERA 1996. It rejected the idea that a second certificate could extend time again, referring to HMRC v Serra Garau. It considered the early conciliation and tribunal rule framework, including section 18A ETA 1996, ET Rules 2013 rules 10, 12, 13, 29 and 37, Regulation 3 and paragraph 4 of the Early Conciliation Rules 2014, and authorities including Science Warehouse v Mills, Mist v Derby Community Health Services Trust, Drake International Systems v Blue Arrow, Compass Group v Morgan, North East London NHS Foundation Trust v Zhou and Sterling v United Learning Trust.

The tribunal distinguished Sterling because Mr Caspall's first claim form had been accepted rather than rejected. It treated the wrong early conciliation number as a minor amendment, considered that there was no prejudice to the respondent, and allowed the first claim form to be amended so that it used the correct first early conciliation certificate number. On that basis, the respondent's strike-out application was dismissed and the claims of both Mr Caspall and Mr Pownall were allowed to proceed. Separately, Mr Pownall withdrew part of his unlawful deduction from wages claim, and that part was dismissed as withdrawn.