Mr Divya Kavadiya v Byosen Limited — 2025

Mr Divya Kavadiya brought a claim against Byosen Limited for unauthorised deduction from wages arising from his time as an intern, with the ET1 referring to internship dates of 20/06/23 to 06/08/23 and a wage payment date of 31 August 2023. The Tribunal held that the claim was brought outside the time limit for an unlawful deduction from wages claim. Early conciliation had been started on 04/03/24, the certificate was dated 15/04/24, and the ET1 was received on 14/05/24, so the claim was significantly out of time.

The Tribunal noted that the claimant had not applied for an extension of time and had provided no reasons or evidence to explain why one should be granted. It therefore dismissed the unlawful deduction from wages claim as out of time.

Byosen Limited also applied for costs under Rule 76(1)(a) and (b). The Tribunal accepted that the claimant had behaved unreasonably in continuing with an out-of-time claim despite being on notice for a lengthy period that limitation was in issue, and that the claim had no reasonable prospects of success. It also found the claimant acted unreasonably by failing to attend the fourth listed final hearing without explanation, despite attempts by the Tribunal office to contact him.

The Tribunal awarded the respondent costs of £361, calculated as 19 hours at £19 per hour. This comprised 16 hours of preparation and 3 hours for attendance at the hearing. No other monetary award was made.