Mrs R Muir v Represented by Mr R M Bertram - Thornhill CAB Advisor Queensberry Event Hire Ltd — 2022

Mrs R Muir brought a single claim for unlawful deduction from wages, limited to overtime and mileage. The tribunal held that the claim had been lodged out of the ordinary three-month period, but found that it was not reasonably practicable for her to present it sooner. It accepted that she reasonably believed the outstanding sums would be resolved after she left, that she was unaware of the tribunal time limit, and that once she realised the position she contacted ACAS and then lodged the ET1 within a reasonable period.

On the merits, the tribunal accepted the claimant's account of the contractual arrangements. Her role had been moved in March 2020 onto a salary of £19,500 per annum, with overtime during the busy season to be reimbursed as time off in lieu, and there was no performance-related pay. The tribunal rejected the respondent's attempt to reduce the claimed overtime by deducting a 45-minute unpaid lunch break each day, finding that this was not justified by the contract or by the way pay had been handled during the currency of the employment. It also rejected the respondent's reliance on alleged performance deficiencies, noting that these had not been used to alter pay during employment.

The tribunal found that the claimant was entitled, on termination, to payment for 39 hours worked in November 2021 plus 179 hours of overtime worked during April to October 2021, making 218 hours in total. As she had already been paid for 112 hours, the balance due was 106 hours at £12 gross per hour, which came to £1,272 gross. The tribunal also accepted that there had been a verbal agreement to pay mileage, found that the claimant had incurred 477.5 miles of company business between July and October 2021, and awarded £214.88 at 45 pence per mile.