Mrs D Knight v The International Church, Mansfield (In Liquidation) — 2019

The claimant presented her claim on 3 October 2018, saying she had worked as a housekeeper for the respondent from 7 July 1990 to 30 November 2017, for 37 hours a week, and had been paid £130 per month before that rose to £220 per month. She said the claim was for non-payment of wages. The respondent said the claim was out of time and later sought dismissal or strike out, including on the basis of non-compliance with case-management orders.

Before the final hearing, the claimant, through solicitors, asked to withdraw the claim but not have it dismissed. The reason given was that she wished to preserve the ability to bring proceedings in the County Court, where the limitation period is six years and the jurisdiction is not capped in the same way as the Employment Tribunal, whereas an Employment Tribunal claim for wages or breach of contract faced a three-month time limit and a possible jurisdictional bar. The respondent opposed that course and relied on Rule 52 of the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure 2013.

The tribunal accepted that the claimant had expressed, at the time of withdrawal, a wish to reserve the right to bring a further claim and that there was a legitimate reason for doing so. It held that there was a serious risk the tribunal would not have jurisdiction because the claim had been presented well out of time, that it would not be an abuse of process to allow withdrawal without dismissal, and that it was in the interests of justice not to issue a dismissal judgment. The tribunal noted that no evidence had been called and no findings of fact had been made, and it balanced some prejudice to the respondent against the greater prejudice to the claimant if she were prevented from pursuing the matter elsewhere.