The first claimant attended part of the hearing; the second claimant did not attend and was not represented. For the v MQH Ltd T/a Oodles Chinese — 2023

The claims were for unpaid holiday pay. The respondent was permitted to amend its response to contend that both claims were out of time, and the tribunal dealt with limitation as a preliminary issue. The tribunal found that the claims were brought outside the three-month time limits in section 23(4) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and regulation 30(2)(b) of the Working Time Regulations 1998.

For Mr Aslam, the tribunal found that his last period of employment ended on 11 February 2022, that he notified Acas on 1 October 2022, and that the claim form was presented on 17 October 2022. When asked why the claim had not been brought sooner, he said he did not know the law until someone told him that he might have a holiday pay claim. The tribunal held that this was not enough to show that it had not been "reasonably practicable" to bring the claim in time, so it did not extend time.

For Mr Shakeel, the tribunal found that his last period of employment ended on 26 December 2021. He did not attend either hearing, submit documents, or correspond with the tribunal or the respondent, and there was no explanation from him for the delay. Because the statutory time limits were not met and the tribunal was not satisfied that time should be extended, both claims were dismissed and the claims would proceed no further.