Mr S Berry v Simon Field t/a Vehicle Logistics — 2021

Mr S Berry presented his ET1 on 21 April 2020. The tribunal recorded that the claim had first been described as 'other payments' and was later clarified by the claimant as concerning sums he said had been deducted from his wages and should have been paid to HMRC, with further reference to a claimed shortfall of £4,121.22 and earlier references to £1,000 and £235. The tribunal heard evidence from the claimant and his accountant, Ms Jayne Wheeler, but did not reach the merits of any employment-status issue or the underlying deductions complaint.

The tribunal found that the last alleged deduction occurred on 20 December 2019, so the primary limitation period for an unlawful deductions claim expired on 19 March 2020. Although the claimant had contacted Acas on 1 March 2020 and received his certificate on 2 March 2020, the relevant early conciliation extensions did not save the claim because the extended date was 2 April 2020 and the ET1 was not presented until 21 April 2020. The tribunal also observed that, if the matter were treated as a breach of contract claim, the same lateness problem arose and the tribunal would still lack jurisdiction.

On the extension-of-time question, the tribunal accepted that the claimant was suffering from anxiety around the time the claim should have been filed, but found that this did not make it not reasonably practicable to present the ET1 by 2 April 2020. The tribunal did not accept the claimant's evidence that work commitments, a realistic fear of threats from the respondent, or alleged incorrect advice from Acas prevented timely presentation. It held that the claim was late, that it was reasonably practicable to have filed in time, and that no extension should be granted.

For those reasons, the tribunal held that it had no jurisdiction to consider the claim and dismissed it. No findings were made on the claimant's employment status or on the substantive merits of the alleged deductions.