Mr F A Iddon v Worq Group — 2023

The claimant presented his Employment Tribunal claim on 21 November 2022 complaining that he had not been paid two weeks' wages and holiday pay. The tribunal found that he had started work on 1 January 2021, was paid £450 gross per week and £375.20 net, and that the unpaid periods were the weeks of 22 and 29 August 2021. The parties agreed that, if the claim had proceeded, the unpaid wages would have been £750.40 net and holiday pay would have been £1,425.76 net.

The tribunal held that the claim was presented out of time. It noted that the statutory time limit had expired on 30 November 2021, that ACAS was not contacted until 29 April 2022, that the early conciliation certificate was issued on 9 June 2022, and that the ET1 was not lodged until 21 November 2022. Although it accepted that the claimant had waited to see whether payment would be made and had experienced repeated hospitalisations, it concluded that it was reasonably practicable to present the claim in time and that there was no good reason for the open-ended delay.

Independently of the time bar, the tribunal found that the claimant was employed by Chedstow Ltd and not by Worq Group. It attached weight to the payslips and P45 naming Chedstow Ltd, and it did not treat the claimant's Worq Group email address as determinative. The tribunal therefore dismissed the claim because it was brought late and against a company that was not the claimant's employer. No award was made.