Mr Tomasz Blawicki v Williamson Design Florist Ltd — 2020

Mr Tomasz Blawicki claimed unpaid wages and holiday pay, saying he had been short of pay for February, March and April 2020 and seeking financial compensation. The respondent disputed the claim, saying he had been dismissed on 16 March 2020 for gross misconduct, that April and May 2020 payments had been made by mistake, and that the claim was out of time. The tribunal noted substantial factual disputes about when the claimant stopped working and when the relevant sums fell due, but it did not resolve those disputes because the threshold issue was time bar.

The tribunal held that, on the claimant's own evidence, his last day of employment was no later than 30 April 2020, and even on the most favourable view for him the last relevant payment date was 11 May 2020. The ACAS early conciliation notification was not received until 11 August 2020 and the tribunal claim was not presented until 24 September 2020, so the claim fell outside the three-month time limits under section 23 ERA 1996 and Article 7 of the Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction (Scotland) Order 1994. The tribunal also found it was reasonably practicable for the claim to have been presented in time. It accepted that the claimant knew he had a right to complain, had sought advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau, and had not shown any illness or disability that prevented him from bringing the claim. Any incorrect advice about time limits did not displace the late presentation. The complaints of deduction from wages, including holiday pay, and breach of contract were therefore dismissed for want of jurisdiction.