A Kemp (sitting alone) Mrs K Shand v Stand Strong Limited — 2019

Mrs Karen Shand worked as a part-time cleaner from 1 January 2009, initially for Kingdom Taverns Limited and then, following a TUPE transfer found to have occurred on 23 April 2017, for Stand Strong Limited. The respondent did not enter a response or appear at the hearing. The tribunal accepted her evidence as clear and reliable and found that Stand Strong ceased trading on 30 April 2018, after which Kingdom Taverns Limited offered her employment from 1 May 2018 but did not preserve continuity of employment. The tribunal noted there was a possibility of a relevant transfer under the 2006 Regulations, but it could not make a finding on that issue on the evidence before it.

On that basis, the tribunal held that the claimant's contract ended on 30 April 2018 and that this amounted to a dismissal under section 136 ERA 1996. It applied the statutory redundancy presumption in section 163(2) and found the dismissal was by reason of redundancy. Using her weekly wage of £93.75 and nine years' service, all over age 41, it awarded a statutory redundancy payment of £1,265.62 under section 135 ERA 1996.

The tribunal also found that April 2018 wages of £375 had not been paid. Although the unlawful deduction from wages claim was presented outside the usual three-month time limit, the tribunal accepted the claimant's evidence that she had contacted Companies House and been told to wait for liquidation or administration, which did not occur. Relying on section 23(4) ERA 1996 and the approach in DHL Supply Chain Ltd v Fazackerley, the tribunal held it was not reasonably practicable to present the claim sooner and that it had been brought within a reasonable period thereafter, so it had jurisdiction to determine the claim and awarded £375.