Ms D Danielak v Ridge Crest Cleaning Limited — 2023

The claimant was employed as a cleaner from 24 August 2020 and paid fortnightly. She resigned on 28 May 2021 giving one week’s notice to 4 June 2021, but the respondent brought termination forward to 28 May 2021. The tribunal heard no live witness evidence and decided the case on the documents and submissions, including the employment contract, a DBS repayment agreement, a schedule of hours and leave, and a workplace rota.

On the wage issues, the tribunal found that the claimant had signed a costs agreement on 19 August 2020 under which DBS costs could be recovered if she left within 12 months, and the contract also allowed deductions for sums owed. Even so, the £35 DBS deduction reduced her pay below the national minimum wage, so it was not lawful under the NMW regime. The tribunal also rejected the respondent’s annualised-hours argument, finding that the contract did not satisfy the strict salaried-hours requirements because the basic hours were not sufficiently ascertainable and the contract required additional hours.

The tribunal therefore held that the claimant was entitled to be paid the national minimum wage for hours worked and calculated an underpayment of £659.83 for 26 November 2020 to 28 May 2021, comparing pay at £7.77 and £7.95 per hour with the applicable minimum wage rates of £8.72 and £8.91. It found that the respondent genuinely believed it had paid the minimum wage, but that belief did not alter the calculation or the result.

For holiday pay, the tribunal applied Brazel and held that the claimant’s entitlement was 5.6 weeks’ leave at her normal weekly pay. Using a holiday year of 1 January to 31 December, it found that in 2021 she accrued 2.27 weeks’ leave, had already taken 1.4 weeks, and was still owed 0.87 weeks, which it valued at £170.50 gross. On notice pay, the tribunal found that the claimant was not expected to work during the notice week, so she had not committed gross misconduct or a fundamental breach by not working it, but the respondent still breached the contract by ending employment early without paying in lieu of notice. No separate compensation was awarded on the breach of contract claim because the tribunal found there was no additional loss beyond the holiday pay entitlement. The total monetary award was £865.33.