Ms Maria Arnold Ms Kerrie Cowley Ms Caitlin Francis Ms Jennifer Hutchings Ms Lisa Watson Ms Emma Wenglorz v Classic Lines (Castle Cary) Ltd — 2023

The six claimants brought claims after Classic Lines (Castle Cary) Ltd's hairdressing business closed on 9 October 2022. The respondent did not present or respond, and the remedy hearing took place remotely on 7 September 2023. The tribunal relied on the claimants' evidence and the calculations prepared from payslips and found the weekly earnings figures used for the awards were consistent with that evidence.

The tribunal held that the respondent breached the claimants' contracts by dismissing them without notice. It awarded pay in lieu of notice to all six claimants by reference to the statutory notice periods in s.86 Employment Rights Act 1996, and it also ordered compensation for employer pension contributions during the notice period for the four claimants who were enrolled in the pension scheme.

The complaints of unauthorised deductions from wages under Part II Employment Rights Act 1996 were well-founded because the respondent had not paid salary between 3 and 9 October 2022 and had not paid holiday pay on accrued untaken leave. Holiday entitlement was calculated by reference to the 5.6-week entitlement in the Working Time Regulations, pro-rated for each claimant. The tribunal did not make an ACAS uplift because no grievances had been raised.

The tribunal found the dismissals were by reason of redundancy. Those with more than two years' continuous service were awarded redundancy payments under ERA s.136. It said the dismissals would have been made in any event, that a fair procedure was not followed, and that there was no unfair dismissal compensation for ongoing losses. The total ordered was £46,852.