Mr D Alderson v Synpower Merchant Services Limited — 2023

The respondent did not attend the hearing, but it had emailed the tribunal on 27 November 2023 confirming that it would adhere to the hearing outcome and settle as set out by the tribunal, so the matter proceeded in its absence. The claimant had previously withdrawn his unfair dismissal claim by email dated 21 July 2022, and the tribunal recorded that claim as dismissed upon withdrawal.

The claimant also withdrew his notice pay claim by email dated 22 November 2023 and said he intended to pursue notice pay in the civil courts. The tribunal treated that as a withdrawal under Rule 51 but did not dismiss the claim, because it was satisfied there was a legitimate reason for the claimant to reserve the right to bring a further claim, as contemplated by Rule 52.

The tribunal upheld the claimant's complaint of unauthorised deductions from wages. It found an unauthorised deduction in respect of the period 1 to 15 October 2021, payable on or around 31 October 2021, and ordered payment of the gross sum deducted, £3,593.61. The calculation was based on an annual salary of £75,000 and a monthly car allowance of £828.33, producing weekly rates of £1,442.31 for salary and £191.15 for car allowance.

The holiday pay claim was also well-founded. The tribunal found that the claimant had accrued 28 days' leave by the termination date, had taken 15.5 days, and therefore had 12.5 days of accrued but untaken leave, equal to 2.5 weeks. Applying the weekly rate of £1,633.46, it awarded £4,083.65 gross under regulation 14(2) of the Working Time Regulations 1998. Under section 163 Employment Rights Act 1996, the tribunal also determined that the claimant was entitled to statutory redundancy pay of £2,448, which had not yet been paid.