Ebonee Walton v Creed Recruitment Ltd — 2022

This was a Rule 21 breach of contract claim by Ebonee Walton against Creed Recruitment Ltd. The respondent did not respond or attend, and the tribunal decided the case on the claimant's evidence and documents, including her contract and payslips. It found that she had been employed from 13 December 2021 to 27 January 2022 on a salary of £22,000 per annum, with fixed hours of 37.5 per week and no overtime worked.

The tribunal held that the claimant's salary accrued at 1/260th per working day rather than 1/365th per calendar day. It relied on the contract terms stating that her hours were "not variable" and that additional hours would attract overtime, and distinguished Hartley v King Edward VI College on that basis, concluding that section 2 of the Apportionment Act 1870 was displaced by the parties' contractual terms. On that approach, the claimant was entitled to £1,269.30 gross for December 2021 and £1,607.78 gross for January 2022, with gross underpayments of £73.65 and £822.07 respectively.

The tribunal recorded net underpayments of £47.74 for December and £635.77 for January. There is an internal inconsistency in the judgment's remedy wording: paragraph 2 states £635.77, but paragraph 8 orders payment of £683.51, which corresponds to the two net underpayments added together. The claim was upheld for breach of contract and a monetary award was made.