ESIM3600 - Undue delay: the applicable period - affect of claimant’s delay

ESIM3500 covers periods to ignore when determining the applicable period for payment of statutory interest in the case of undue delay.

Examples of the affect delay by the claimant will have on the applicable period:

Example 1

If a claim takes 40 days to authorise then the applicable period would normally span 10 days i.e. from day 31 up to and including day 40. However if for instance 12 of those days were considered appropriate to ignore because the claimant failed to respond to enquiries within a reasonable time, then it would transpire that there was no applicable period. This is because the claim was authorised within the 30 day allowable period, see ESIM3300. As a result there will be no payment of statutory interest.

Example 2

If a claim takes 45 days to authorise then the applicable period would normally span 15 days i.e. from day 31 up to an including day 45. However if 6 of those days were considered appropriate to ignore because the claimant failed to respond to enquiries within a reasonable time, then the applicable period would be reduced to 9 days. Statutory interest would therefore be paid in respect of those 9 days.

Evidence of the claimant’s delay will be required perhaps to tribunal standard in the event of an appeal.