MRS C A LUFF v COBSEN-DAVIES ROOFING (SURREY) LIMITED [2009] UKEAT 0526_08_0601

EMPLOYMENT APPEAL TRIBUNAL
BAILII case number: [2009] UKEAT 0526_08_0601Case No Appeal No. UKEAT/0526/08Venue 58 VICTORIA EMBANKMENT, LONDON EC4Y 0DS
Between
MRS C A LUFFAPPELLANTCOBSEN-DAVIES ROOFING (SURREY) LIMITEDRESPONDENT
Before
His Honour Judge McMullenDate 6 January 2009
[1]APPEARANCES For the Appellant Written submissions For the Respondent No appearance or representation by or on behalf of the Respondent SUMMARY STATUTORY DISCIPLINE AND GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES A letter claiming redundancy payment and holiday pay as a contractual entitlement constitutes a grievance and a claim form seeking both should have been accepted. HIS HONOUR JUDGE McMULLEN QC This is a full hearing of the appeal lodged by Mrs Luff who is the Claimant in putative proceedings against Cobsen-Davies Roofing (Surrey) Ltd, her former employer and the putative Respondent. She asks for me to deal with it on the papers. The Respondent has not responded. Elias J, President and HHJ Peter Clark on the sift of this appeal directed a full hearing be conducted and be expedited, and steps were taken to clarify what is said by the Claimant to be the presentation of a grievance, the necessary gateway to presenting a claim to an Employment Tribunal under the 2004 Dispute Resolution Regulations .[2]A letter has now been produced, which I do not think was before Employment Judge Hildebrand when he determined that parts of the Claimant's claim form seeking a redundancy payment and holiday pay had not been prefaced by a relevant grievance and would not be accepted. The letter dated 14 March 2008 from the Claimant to the Respondent says this:
"Further to the events of Monday March 3 rd , I now write to confirm my position with regard to my employment. I am entitled to the following payments as per my contract of employment:- Payment in lieu of Notice Period Holiday Pay Redundancy Pay I look forward to your confirmation of the amounts and the date they will be paid on my return."
[3]A claim form was received by the Employment Tribunal Service on 9 August 2008. That prompted a letter to be written on behalf of Employment Judge Hildebrand rejecting two parts of her claim since she had not complied with the procedure. It is plain from the letter now adduced that she did indeed raise holiday pay and redundancy pay and waited the requisite 28 days before commencing her claim. Both those matters, even arising on dismissal, seem to require a grievance to be presented: see Employment Act 2002 Schedule 3. Of course she did not need to raise a grievance about dismissal as the regulations do not apply.[4]Her claim form entries are confusing since she says her claim is "about a dismissal" and not "about anything else" so she did not answer questions about compliance with the grievance regulations. Yet she does make additional claims under "other payments you are owed". When asked about redundancy payments she says "I am entitled … and have written to the company asking for it." In that section no question is asked about the grievance regulations. Anyway she has now produced the evidence for this. Conclusion[5]There may be issues relating to time in presenting these claims, and I perceive an issue about the correct Respondent as Mr Healy asserts on 5 December 2008, citing Mr Gordon Luff. But claims for redundancy pay are subject to a six-month time limit (see section 163 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 ), and there may be issues as to whether time was enlarged by the grievance. Those are matters for further treatment. All I need do is indicate that the claim form complies with the statutory procedure and since the matter is now in my hands I direct that this claim form be accepted and a response obtained from the Respondent to all parts of the claim.