Claimant v John McArthur Ams Chartered Accountants — 2019

This was a preliminary hearing in a redundancy payment claim. The claimant appeared in person and the respondent did not attend. The tribunal recorded that the claim had been presented outwith the six-month period for a redundancy pay claim, because the claimant's employment ended on 23 June 2018 and the accepted claim was not presented until 13 March 2019 after an earlier rejected attempt in February 2019. The tribunal noted that any extension of time would depend on whether it was just and equitable to extend time for presentation.

The tribunal also considered the identity of the proper respondent. The claimant confirmed that his employer had been Clootie Dumpling Ltd, not Mr McArthur personally, but the company had been dissolved on 21 May 2019. The tribunal said that, in ordinary circumstances, amendment to substitute the company would have been appropriate, but it could not amend the claim to bring in an entity that no longer existed.

The result was that the hearing was postponed and the case was sisted for two months to allow the claimant to consider whether to seek restoration of Clootie Dumpling Ltd to the Register and to pursue the matter further with the Insolvency Service. The tribunal directed that the file be brought back before an Employment Judge in mid-September if no further development was reported by the claimant. It noted that, if the company were restored, the claim would need to be amended and served on that company before the time-bar issue could be decided.