Miss Temitope Ogundimu v Kindered Hearts Limited — 2025

Miss Temitope Ogundimu worked for Kindered Hearts Limited as a Care Worker and then as a Care Co-ordinator from 12 January 2023 to 26 July 2024. She presented a claim seeking £3,679.02 for unpaid net wages. The tribunal substituted Kindered Hearts Limited as the correct respondent after noting that the claimant had named the owner and manager, but her contract showed the employer was the company.

The respondent did not file an ET3 response and did not attend the hearing. The claimant produced her employment contract and her last payslip, dated April 2024. She said tax and national insurance continued to be paid on her wages after that date, but she did not receive her net salary.

The tribunal accepted that the complaint was presented outside the primary three-month time limit and considered section 23 ERA 1996. It referred to Palmer v Southend-on-Sea Borough Council and Walls Meat Co Ltd v Khan on the meaning of whether it was reasonably practicable to bring the claim in time. On the facts, the tribunal accepted that the claimant had not grown up in the UK, did not know the UK legal system or employment rights, tried repeatedly to raise the non-payment with Ms Mahohoma, and was focused on rent and finding other work.

The tribunal found this was a borderline case but concluded it was not reasonably practicable for the claimant to contact ACAS within three months of the missed wages. It accepted that she acted promptly after a colleague told her that non-payment of wages could found a tribunal claim. Time was extended and, under rule 22, the tribunal determined that the respondent had made unauthorised deductions from the claimant’s wages and ordered payment of £3,679.02 within 14 days.