Mr A Shellum (Counsel) For v Ms S Carvell (Administrative Assistant) — 2020

The tribunal refused the respondent's application to postpone the 9 November 2020 hearing. The claim form had been presented on 3 January 2020 and served on the respondent on 9 January 2020, no response was filed by 6 February 2020, and the tribunal wrote again on 28 February 2020 warning that judgment might be issued under Rule 21 of the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure 2013. The respondent first contacted the tribunal on 6 November 2020 seeking an adjournment, and a further email was sent on the morning of the hearing; the judge applied the Presidential Guidance relating to postponements and concluded there was no proper basis to adjourn, noting that the earlier correspondence pre-dated the pandemic and that no explanation had been given for the failure to respond.

On the merits, the tribunal found that the claimant had been unfairly dismissed and awarded £22,812.91. That figure comprised a basic award of £3,750 and a compensatory award of £19,062.91, made up of loss of earnings to date, future loss of earnings, pension loss, loss of statutory rights, expenses of seeking new employment, and a 25% uplift under section 208A TULR(C)A 1992. The written record does not set out separate written reasons for the merits findings because reasons were given orally at the hearing.

The tribunal also recorded that the claimant's unpaid wages claim was well-founded and awarded £6,222.93 net, the unpaid holiday pay claim was well-founded and awarded £650 net, and the section 11 Employment Relations Act 1999 claim was well-founded with an award of £1,000 described as two weeks' pay. The judgment states that the wage and holiday pay sums were calculated net of tax and national insurance with corresponding payments to HMRC, and the total award was £30,685.84.