Wharton v Sheehan Haulage & Plant Hire [2024] EAT 127

Facts

Based on the fact that the claim form was submitted after the deadline, the employment tribunal decided to reject the allegations that the claimant had made about the unlawful deduction from wages. There were deductions taken from the notice pay and holiday pay that the claimant had claimed. Therefore, the relevant time limits began to run from the day when his employment was terminated, according to the decision of the tribunal. Due to the fact that the claimant did not make contact with Acas in order to initiate early conciliation within three months of the termination date, it was determined that his claim was received out of time. 

Held

The Employment Appeal panel overturned this judgement and said that it was incorrect for the panel to come to the conclusion that the Claimant initiated early conciliation with Acas at an inappropriately late deadline. The time restriction for bringing a claim for unlawful deductions from pay is three months, beginning from the day the deduction was made. Due to the fact that the Claimant was paid weekly in arrears, his most recent pay date (the date on which the deductions were allegedly made) occurred nine days after the date on which he was terminated from his position. Within three months of this date, Acas early conciliation had been initiated, and the claim form had been submitted to the tribunal within one month of the Acas early conciliation certificate being given. Both of these events occurred within the same time frame.

Comment

The tribunal was wrong to assess the claim as being out of time. Three-month time limit for unlawful deductions claims runs from date of deduction, not termination date.