Mrs A-M Arthur v No appearance and No representation Department for Work and Pensions — 2024

Mrs A-M Arthur brought a claim of unlawful deduction from wages under section 23 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, alleging that she had not been paid in respect of accrued holidays as part of overtime payments. The tribunal identified the issue as whether the claim was out of time and, if so, whether the time limit should be extended so that it could be determined on the merits.

The tribunal found that the claimant's last date of employment was 2 August 2023, that the respondent's final payslip relied on was dated 30 November 2023, and that early conciliation began on 5 April 2024 before the claim was presented on 30 May 2024. On the documents available, the latest possible date of deduction was 30 November 2023, which meant the claim was already outside the normal three-month period when early conciliation began. The tribunal also noted that, if the claim related to pay from December 2017 to 31 March 2021, it was some three years out of time.

The tribunal accepted the respondent's account that employees had been notified on 10 January 2024 of a further back payment proposal, but held there was no evidence that it had not been reasonably practicable for the claim to be presented in time. It also considered whether any extension would be reasonable and concluded it would not, noting that the claimant contacted ACAS almost three months after the January 2024 notification and had the benefit of a trade union representative at that stage. As the claimant did not provide documents or oral submissions to support an extension, the tribunal dismissed the claim for want of jurisdiction.