Claimant v M Fernandez v Premium Support Services Ltd — 2025

Ms Y V Martinez Fernandez presented a claim on 2 February 2025 for unpaid bonus payments for the years ending 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, totalling £20,000. The respondent’s successor, Excellerate Services UK Ltd, said the claim was outside the Tribunal’s primary three-month time limit. The Tribunal also issued an order requiring further information, including whether the claimant contended that Excellerate Services UK Ltd was liable and whether it should be joined as a second respondent, but the claimant did not comply.

The hearing took place on 10 June 2025. The claimant did not attend and did not respond to the Tribunal’s repeated attempts to contact her by email and telephone, so the Tribunal proceeded in her absence under rule 47 of the 2024 Rules. The Tribunal was satisfied that she was aware of the hearing. It noted that the claimant had sent some employment documents shortly before the hearing, but had not provided any explanation of the time limit point.

The Tribunal treated the matter as a breach of contract claim and applied Article 7 of the Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction (England and Wales) Order 1994. It held that the claim had to be presented within three months of the effective date of termination, subject to the question whether it was not reasonably practicable to do so. Relying on Porter v Bandridge Ltd and Palmer v Southend-on-Sea Borough Council, the Tribunal found that it was reasonably practicable for the claimant to have brought a protective claim in time. The claimant’s assertion that she had been told the outstanding bonus would be paid in instalments, if made, did not prevent her from filing in time. The Tribunal therefore held that it had no jurisdiction to determine the claim.