W Slack v Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy — 2022

The claimant sought a statutory redundancy payment and payments for arrears of pay, holiday pay and notice pay from the Secretary of State following the insolvency of Rapax Ltd. The respondent disputed the claims on time limit grounds and on the basis that the claimant was not an employee, but the preliminary hearing addressed limitation only.

For the arrears of pay, holiday pay and notice pay claims, the Tribunal found the Secretary of State's decision was communicated on 14 January 2022 and the section 188 time limit expired on 13 April 2022. The claim was presented on 10 May 2022. The Tribunal accepted that the claimant relied on advice from RCUK and that this advice caused the missed deadline, but found RCUK were skilled advisers and their error was attributed to the claimant under the Dedman principle. It was therefore reasonably practicable to present those claims in time, and the Tribunal had no jurisdiction.

For the statutory redundancy payment claim, the Tribunal assumed, for limitation purposes only, the claimant's case on employment status, termination date, continuity and redundancy. It found he had not made a written claim to Rapax Ltd or taken any other section 164(1) step within six months. Although he referred the issue to the Tribunal within the next six-month period, the Tribunal concluded that it was not just and equitable that he should receive a statutory redundancy payment, having regard to the claimant's awareness of some time limit, the steps he did not take to check it, the length of the delay, and the circumstances in which he delayed insolvency proceedings to accrue two years' service.