EAT JURISDICTIONAL POINTS
PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Costs
The Claimant alleged unfair and/or wrongful dismissal, arising out of a resignation which the Employment Appeal Tribunal found had been made without any notice, and where there had been no repudiatory breach by the employer. Accordingly, the Claimant was not entitled to any award of compensation for unfair dismissal, nor for wrongful dismissal, and had no legitimate claim for moneys due in the notice period (since in breach of contract she had simply left). She withdrew her claim for notice pay during the hearing. In fact, in advance of the hearing she had benevolently been paid a sum in lieu of notice, and her full holiday pay entitlement. The Judge awarded andpound;1,800 at the hearing because the employer had not provided a statement of terms and conditions of employment under section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, and andpound;150 by way of fee reimbursement because the Claimant had partially won her case. He declined to reconsider his decision (on the basis that section 38 of the Employment Act 2002 required the Claimant to have succeeded in a claim, or a finding of fact to have been made in her favour, before any such award could be made) saying that the withdrawal of a justified claim by a claimant amounted to a finding of fact by a Tribunal in her favour.
Held: The Claimant had no justified claim; she had lost her case; and there was no jurisdiction to make an award in respect of the admitted failure of the employer to observe section 1 Employment Rights Act 1996. Even if the claim had not been justified (rather than hopeless) a withdrawal could not be equated to a finding in her favour, which is what the section specifically required. Insofar as the policy underpinning the statute could be ascertained, in any event it was better served by the opposite interpretation to that which the Judge thought appropriate. Appeal allowed, with reimbursement of the appeal fees.
Langstaff P J
[2015] UKEAT 0377 – 14 – 0602
Bailii
Employment Rights Act 1996 1
England and Wales
Employment
Updated: 29 December 2021; Ref: scu.544858
