Mrs P West v Portland Care 5 Limited — 2025

Mrs West worked as a carer at Greenacres Grange from 26 January 2023 until 16 May 2024. This judgment concerned only time limits for her complaint about accrued but unpaid holiday pay under Regulation 30 of the Working Time Regulations 1998. The Tribunal found that the primary three-month limit expired on 15 August 2024, and that Mrs West did not start early conciliation until 28 November 2024 after seeking help from Citizens Advice and ACAS and corresponding with the respondent during September and October 2024.

The Tribunal accepted Mrs West's evidence that she did not know she had a right to bring a tribunal claim, or about the time limit, until 27 November 2024 when she received ACAS guidance. It found her ignorance was reasonable in the circumstances, including her lack of competence in basic IT, her difficulty understanding legal written guidance, and her reliance on free advice rather than a skilled adviser. Applying the 'not reasonably practicable' test, and referring to authorities including Porter v Bandridge Ltd, GMB v Hamm and Lowri Beck Services Ltd v Brophy, the Tribunal held that it was not reasonably practicable for her to present the claim within the primary time limit.

On the second stage of Regulation 30(2)(b), the Tribunal held that the claim was presented within a further period that was reasonable. It found that Mrs West acted promptly once she understood the steps required: she contacted ACAS the next day after being directed to do so, began early conciliation when given the relevant information, and submitted her claim on 9 January 2025 when early conciliation ended. The application for an extension of time therefore succeeded, and the Tribunal said it had jurisdiction to consider the holiday pay complaint at a final hearing. No substantive ruling on the underlying holiday pay entitlement, and no remedy award, was made in this decision.