Employment Tribunals And Breach Of Contract - Not bound by the civil courts time limit of six years
In Grisanti v NBC News Worldwide Inc ET/2200964/15, a tribunal considered the limitation period for a breach of contract claim in the employment tribunal.
In the civil courts The Limitation Act 1980 sets out the limitation period of six years for actions in respect of the time allowed for a party to bring a breach of contract claim. This case held that the Employment Tribunal system was not restricted to this time-frame.
Ms Grisanti was employed by NBC News. Following the termination of her employment, she sought to claim a state pension. HMRC advised her that no national insurance payments had been made on her behalf between 1996-2003. However, Ms Grisanti's payslips for this period showed that NBC News had made deductions from her gross salary. The Claimant alleged breach of contract.
Ms Grisanti lodged a breach of contract claim against NBC News on 24 March 2015 in the Employment Tribunal. It was within 3 months of her termination date but alleged a breach which was more than six years after the cause of action had accrued.
The tribunal concluded that it had jurisdiction to hear the claim and that 6 years was not the magic number for breach of contract and employment tribunals. This is only the second case to question this precise issue and unhelpfully the previous claim resulted in a decision determining 6 years was the correct time period.
Posted on 09/09/2015 by Ortolan
