In a recent Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) decision, it was clarified that the three-month time limit for making claims about unlawful deductions from wages starts from the date the deduction occurred, not the date employment ended.
In the case of Wharton v Sheehan Haulage & Plant Hire, the original tribunal dismissed the Claimant’s case because they believed it was submitted too late. The Claimant argued that wages were wrongly deducted from his notice pay and holiday pay. The tribunal treated the time limit as starting from the day his employment ended, and since the Claimant didn’t start the necessary Acas early conciliation process within three months of that date, his claim was dismissed.
However, the EAT overturned this decision, stating that the time limit should have started from the date of the last payment (when the deductions were made), which was after the termination date. The Claimant had started Acas early conciliation within three months of this later date, making his claim valid.
This case highlights the importance for employers to carefully calculate deadlines when an employee brings a claim. It’s easy to mistakenly focus on the termination date, but for claims about unlawful deductions on termination, the time limit starts from the date of the last pay, which may be after the employment has ended.
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