Miss Wilma Hill v United Biscuits (UK) Ltd t/a Pladis — 2024

Miss Wilma Hill had worked for United Biscuits (UK) Ltd t/a Pladis from 16 August 1982 until her redundancy on 30 September 2022, following the closure of the factory where she worked. The claim before the Tribunal was a breach of contract complaint about the calculation of her enhanced redundancy pay, specifically that it should have been calculated using a 4.25% pay rise awarded in September 2022. The Tribunal heard only from the claimant and had an agreed bundle of documents. It found that she had been given information about how her redundancy payment was calculated and that she knew at the time of dismissal that the September 2022 pay rise had not been used.

The Tribunal held that the claim was lodged out of time and that it had been reasonably practicable for it to have been presented within the three-month time limit. The claimant did not seek legal advice or carry out any research into her rights or the time limit before or after dismissal. The Tribunal found that her delay was caused by ignorance of the possibility of bringing a claim, but that this ignorance was not reasonable because she already knew all the relevant facts when the time limit began to run. It also found that learning on 3 August 2023 that other former employees had pursued similar claims, which had in fact settled out of court, did not prevent her from bringing her own claim in time.

The Tribunal further held that, even if it had not been reasonably practicable to present the claim in time, the claim was not brought within a further period that was reasonable. It noted that the claim was about 10 months late, that the claimant waited about two months after learning of the other claims before starting ACAS Early Conciliation on 7 October 2023, and that she then waited a further period before presenting her ET1 on 24 October 2023. The Tribunal therefore declined to exercise its discretion to hear the claim out of time and dismissed the claim.