Detailed Provisions Part 4: Financial redress: redress payments Payment of redress payment Section 49: Period for which offer valid
136.In accordance with subsection (1), once a redress application has been determined and an offer is made under section 36, the applicant can accept the offer by signing and returning a waiver, or the applicant may request a review of the offer in the terms permitted by section 54.
137.If the applicant does neither of these things within the time period during which the offer remains valid, it will be treated as having been rejected (subsection (2)) unless the reason for the inaction is the applicant’s death and a nominated beneficiary then takes over the application.
138.The offer remains valid for a period of six months from the date it is received by the applicant (or such longer period as the panel determining the application may specify) (subsection (3)). As with other timescales which run from the date of receipt of something by the applicant, section 26(5) and (6) of ILRA provides for when an applicant is to be assumed to have received the thing. It should be noted that a review cannot necessarily be sought during the entirety of the period for which the offer is valid: the period for seeking a review is eight weeks, although late requests can be allowed if there is a good reason for any delay.
139.Subsections (4) and (5) make provision as regards the revival of an application in exceptional circumstances where the time period for acceptance has elapsed. Revival of an application would not revive any review rights in relation to it. In such a case, the appropriate course of action would be to seek a late review under section 54(5). However, revival may be appropriate where the applicant wishes to accept the offer but, for example, was unable to do so in time due to a period of hospitalisation.