Case 6027753/2025 · Employment Tribunal

Ms S Belton v Natures Journey Limited (in creditors voluntary liquidation) and 1 other — 2026

Case reference: 6027753/2025
Decision date: 24 March 2026
Jurisdiction: England & Wales
Judge: Employment Judge Moor Representation

Indexed: 25 April 2026

Parties

3 named

Claimant

Ms S Belton

Respondents

Key findings

Tribunal's reasoning

The claimant brought claims against her former employer (the First Respondent, in voluntary liquidation) and the Secretary of State as statutory guarantor for unpaid wages, partly unpaid notice pay, accrued but unpaid holiday pay on termination, and injury to feelings. She also applied for legal costs. By the date of the hearing the claimant had received £5,447.43 from the Secretary of State (subject to the statutory cap) against a total claimed sum of £7,255.42. The hearing proceeded in the claimant's absence under Rule 47 after she indicated she was content for the matter to go ahead.

The Tribunal found that all three money claims had been presented after the primary three-month time limit — the wages and holiday-pay claims by approximately two months and the contract claim by 23 days. ACAS early conciliation did not extend the time limit for the wages and holiday-pay claims because it began outside the primary period. The Tribunal was not persuaded that it had been not reasonably practicable to present the claims in time and dismissed all three. The application for legal costs was refused because Rule 64 only permits consideration of conduct in the proceedings, and the injury-to-feelings claim was dismissed as misconceived because that remedy is not available in claims of these types.

Claims and outcomes

4 findings recorded

Claim type	Issue or finding	Outcome	Protected characteristic	Award
Unlawful deduction from wages	Claim for unpaid wages. Dismissed as presented approximately two months out of time. ACAS early conciliation began outside the primary three-month period and so did not extend it. The claimant did not establish that it had not been reasonably practicable to bring the claim in time.	Dismissed	—	—
Breach of contract	Claim for partly unpaid notice pay. Time started to run from the effective date of termination (10 March 2025); ACAS early conciliation extended the deadline to 3 July 2025. The claim was presented 23 days after that extended deadline and was dismissed; no basis to extend time was established.	Dismissed	—	—
Holiday pay	Claim for accrued but unpaid annual leave on termination. Dismissed as presented two months out of time on the same reasoning as the unpaid wages claim.	Dismissed	—	—
Other	Claim for injury to feelings. Tribunal held that injury to feelings is not a remedy available in unlawful-deduction-of-wages, contract or holiday-pay claims, and the application was misconceived. A separate application for legal costs was also refused; the conduct relied on was pre-proceedings, outside the scope of Rule 64.	Dismissed	—	—

Legal tests applied

7 references

Official outcome judgment PDF

Gov.uk primary record

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