Time limit to bring court action against previous employer for non-payment of bonus

sunil1234

Hi

As per the title really, is there any statutory time limit in which someone must bring a court claim for non-payment of bonus (they are no longer employed by the compnay for a couple of years but never got round to having the guts to do it before)?

TIA

SarEl

They are out of time for any claim under employment law. The only possible recourse would be civil law ( a debt can be claimed within a 6 year period) - but that doesn't mean that there is a case, because it depends on the circumstances of the non-payment.

sunil1234

thanks, well i think that will have to be tried

brief facts

they were employed by the company for a year
they left after the first year on good terms
the bonus scheme was such that if they were employed during the year then it would be payable
People in the same team who didnt leave were paid a full bonus
This person got nothing with the company claiming the team failed objectives both coporate and personal
No personal objectives were ever set by the company for the individual
No meeetings were held so individual presumed they were performing their duties
When individual first contacted them, they went to the manager (who had since left) and created a list of objectives and rated them retrospectively!
Then they said individual must have an appraisal to get bonus so invited them in for an appraisal after they had left and after the "false" objectives were created and ranked
They now deny any bonus was due (of course)

what do you think?

thanks

SarEl

It isn't my area of law - but I don't think it looks that good to be frank. You claim they created the objectives retrospectively - what proof do you have? If there are criteria set upon which the bonus was awarded, then the fact that everyone else got it and this person didn't doesn't mean a thing. And waiting two years to dispute this? I think you would need very substantial evidence that such a debt existed.

sunil1234

SarEl wrote: »

It isn't my area of law - but I don't think it looks that good to be frank. You claim they created the objectives retrospectively - what proof do you have? If there are criteria set upon which the bonus was awarded, then the fact that everyone else got it and this person didn't doesn't mean a thing. And waiting two years to dispute this? I think you would need very substantial evidence that such a debt existed.

they wrote and said they created the objectives and enclosed a copy on email dated etc

the person was in correspondence with them at the time so emails and letters regarding the bonus payment exist


the time is the issue perhaps?

SarEl

sunil1234 wrote: »

they wrote and said they created the objectives and enclosed a copy on email dated etc

the person was in correspondence with them at the time so emails and letters regarding the bonus payment exist


the time is the issue perhaps?

But as I said, this isn't my area of law and I can't even see the documents to assess them as to what they evidence. I doubt if anyone here could give you a definite answer. Maybe you need to consult CAB or a solicitor - you may be able to get a free introductory session to get advice.

sunil1234

ok thankyou for the reply and help

:beer: