Jason Elliott was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2013 and is the Associate Head of School of Law at Ulster University. As a practising barrister, he has developed a largely civil practice representing individuals, companies and public bodies in litigation. This covers a wide range of areas including personal injuries, wills and employment law. In terms of employment law, he has represented both applicants and respondents in the Industrial Tribunal. At Ulster University, Jason lectures extensively on the civil areas of practise such as Equity and Trusts and delivers employment law lectures for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Background:
The claimant was employed by the respondent from August 2017 as a Waste Network Technician. The claimant alleged that there were deductions made from April 2019 to March 2020. These related to alleged overtime.
The claimant pursued a grievance relating to the same in February 2021 which resulted in some payments being made after hearing and appeal. Throughout that period, the claimant had been on long term sick leave from December 2020 until March 2022. The claimant then did return to work before taking up a new role in June 2022.
The claimant did not contact ACAS until May 2022 in relation to the unlawful deduction from wages allegation.
Outcome:
The Tribunal focused on the time limits relating to the unlawful deduction from wages. The first was Section 23(4A) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 which does not permit the Tribunal to consider a complaint relating to unauthorised deductions which occurred more than two years prior to the presentation of the claim. As the claim was not presented until July 2022 no claim from before July 2020 could be considered. As this solely related to allegations from before July 2020 the Tribunal had no jurisdiction. Therefore, the claim could not succeed. The Tribunal also indicated that the claim could not proceed in any event bearing in mind the normal time limits imposed.
Practical Guidance for Employers:
This case demonstrates a slight deviation between the law within the Employment Rights Act 1996 in Great Britain and the Employment Rights (NI) Order 1996. The Act has this limitation on unauthorised deductions relating to those older than two years which was inserted by the Deduction from Wages (Limitation) Regulations 2014 yet this has not been entered into the Employment Rights (NI) Order 1996. This distinction should be borne in mind in dealing with a claim relating to unlawful deduction from wages which may have some history to it (but still bearing in mind the normal time limits for presenting a claim to the Tribunal).
https://www.gov.uk/employment-tribunal-decisions/miss-t-mcgauley-v-dwr-cymru-cefyngedig-1600859-slash-2022
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