Claimant v DSLLS Ltd (in creditors voluntary liquidation) and Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy — 2022

Miss Hennigan was employed by DSLLS Limited from 4 March 2018 and was made redundant on 17 August 2021. The tribunal found that she did not apply for a redundancy payment within the first six months after the relevant date, but she later contacted the first respondent's financial director and then the provisional liquidators, Wilson Field, who told her matters were being sorted and that she would be paid when the company went into liquidation.

The tribunal accepted that the claimant did not know she could make a tribunal claim and did not take independent advice during the relevant period. It found that she relied on information from the first respondent and the provisional liquidators, who did not tell her about the time limit. Her written application on 20 June 2022 was accepted as a claim within s.164(2)(a) Employment Rights Act 1996.

Applying s.164(2), the tribunal held that it was just and equitable to allow the claim notwithstanding that it was made about 10 months after the effective date of termination. It awarded a redundancy payment calculated using the gross weekly pay of £470.51, three years' service, and the statutory formula of 1.5, producing a total award of £2,117.30.