Mrs A Kobernik v Eden Polish Kitchen Cheltenham Ltd — 2022

Mrs A Kobernik worked for Eden Polish Kitchen Cheltenham Ltd as a waitress from 6 July 2020 until 2 February 2021, with gross pay of £1,560 per month or £360 per week. The respondent did not present a response or attend the hearing. The tribunal accepted the claimant's evidence, supported by payslips and bank statements, about what had been paid and what remained outstanding.

For wages and statutory sick pay, the payslips for 30 November 2020, 31 December 2020, 31 January 2021 and 28 February 2021 showed £2,052.04 net due in total. The tribunal found that only one payment of £1,000 on 5 February 2021 related to the claim period, leaving a shortfall of £1,052.04 net. That shortfall was held to be an unauthorised deduction from wages under Part II ERA 1996.

For holiday pay, the tribunal found that the claimant had taken no annual leave while employed and had not been given payment in lieu on termination. Her final payslip showed 16.37 days' unused holiday at £1,178.64 gross and £1,034.43 net, and the tribunal accepted that figure as the amount properly due under regulation 14 of the Working Time Regulations 1998.

The tribunal also found that the respondent had never provided the claimant with a written statement of employment particulars, despite having promised one. Applying section 38 of the Employment Act 2002, and noting the uncertainty created for the claimant about holiday entitlement and the dates wages were due, the tribunal considered it just and equitable to award the higher amount of four weeks' pay, calculated at £360 per week, making £1,440.