Mr Sutherland (in person) For the v Harris Brothers Contract Furniture Ltd (In voluntary liquidation) — 2019

The claimant started work for the respondent as an upholsterer on 30 August 2016 and was told on 14 September 2018 that he was being made redundant that day. He said he was promised payment of outstanding holiday pay and redundancy pay on 21 September 2018, but those sums were not forthcoming. He contacted ACAS on 28 January 2019 and presented his tribunal claim on 8 April 2019.

The tribunal identified 21 September 2018 as the date on which the holiday pay should have been made, so the primary limitation period expired on 20 December 2018. ACAS notification came after that date, so early conciliation did not stop the clock. The claimant said he did not present the claim earlier because he did not know he could bring a claim, but the tribunal found that from the date of dismissal he knew he was owed money for untaken holiday and knew he could sue for it. It also found that his limited reading and writing did not prevent him from presenting a claim, and that there had been no misrepresentation by the respondent about time limits or tribunal procedure.

Applying the "reasonably practicable" test and the authorities cited in the reasons, the tribunal concluded that the claimant had opportunities from September 2018 onwards to make enquiries, including speaking to his mother or seeking advice from organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureau, but did not do so until January 2019. It held that he ought to have been aware that there was a time limit and that it was reasonably practicable for him to have presented the holiday pay claim in time. The tribunal therefore found that it had no jurisdiction to hear the accrued but untaken holiday pay claim and dismissed it.

The redundancy payment claim was not pursued. The claimant confirmed that he had received his redundancy payment from the Redundancy Payment Service and no longer sought that claim, so the tribunal dismissed it upon withdrawal.