Mr N Cohrs v Viridor Waste Management Limited Heard: Remotely by video link — 2021

The tribunal heard the case remotely on 20 August 2021 before Employment Judge S Shore. It found that the claimant had been employed by Viridor Waste Management Limited under a written fixed-term contract from 4 May 2020 to 3 November 2020, unless terminated earlier in accordance with clause 20. The judge held that clause 2, which fixed the end date, had to take precedence over clause 20, because otherwise the fixed-term wording would be meaningless. The entire agreement clause also meant that earlier discussions or expectations before the contract was signed could not alter the contractual position.

The central dispute was whether a meeting on 7 August 2020 created a new permanent role or otherwise varied the claimant's notice entitlement. The tribunal rejected the claimant's account of that meeting, finding it vague and unsupported by contemporaneous documents. It preferred Mr Piddington's evidence and found that the meeting was about the future of the Polymers business, not an offer and acceptance of a new permanent job. The judge also relied on the absence of any documentary trail supporting the alleged appointment to a senior permanent role, and on the later email exchange of 19 and 20 August 2020 indicating that Mr Piddington did not think the claimant had been appointed to a new job on a permanent basis.

The tribunal further relied on the letter of 5 October 2020 telling the claimant that his contract would end on 3 November 2020, and on the claimant's subsequent correspondence, which the judge found gave no indication that he believed he had already been appointed to a new permanent role. The judge concluded that the claimant had not shown on the balance of probabilities that there had been any variation of the contract. The claim therefore failed, and the tribunal did not go on to determine the remaining issues, including the £25,000 cap point.