UK: Tribunal breach of contract claims - set-off defence available to employer as alternative to counterclaim

The EAT has confirmed that an employer facing a breach of contract claim in the tribunal may be able to recover sums owed to it by the employee (eg, overpaid wages) by pleading set-off as a defence, thereby reducing the amount claimed by the employee. This will be useful if the employer has missed the 28 day time limit from receipt of the ET1 to lodge a counterclaim, although of course it does not enable the employer to recover any more of the debt than the value of the employee's own claim, and only if that claim succeeds. (Ridge v HM Land Registry, EAT)