This case at the EAT is a reminder that claims for money for failing to inform and consult are made in two stages. The first stage involves the Tribunal considering whether there has been a failure in relation to information and consultation. If there has, it can make an award of up to 13 weeks pay to be paid to all employees within a description of employees affected by the lack of consultation. However, at this stage individual employees don’t have a judgment in their favour. If the employer doesn’t pay up voluntarily, stage 2 comes into play. This involves individual employees presenting a complaint to the Tribunal to get a judgment in their individual favour. The time limit for doing this is three months from the Tribunals Order.

In this case, the EAT varied the Tribunal’s decision (by decreasing the amount of the award from 13 weeks to 7 and by making the other employer who was party to the transfer jointly and severally liable). A dispute arose as to when the three month time limit ran from – three months from the Tribunal decision or three months from the EAT decision. The EAT held three months from the EAT decision which amended the ET one.