In person For the First v Air Conditioning Maintenance and Servicing Ltd and Mr Austen Beeney T/a Austen Air Conditioning — 2021

The tribunal found that Mr Andrew Sercombe was employed by Air Conditioning Maintenance and Servicing Ltd from 30 June 2015, but that his employment broke in February 2018. On the evidence, he resigned, left the first respondent on Friday 2 February 2018, worked elsewhere for a short period, and rejoined the first respondent on Monday 12 February 2018. The tribunal rejected the suggestion that there was continuous employment through that period and held that the week ending 10 February 2018 did not count, so continuity was broken under sections 210(4) and 235(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

On the TUPE issue, the tribunal held that there was no relevant transfer from the first respondent to Mr Austen Beeney trading as Austen Air Conditioning when the first respondent ceased trading on 16 September 2019. Although Mr Beeney had bought the customer list for £20,000 and set up his own business, the tribunal found that no stable economic entity transferred: there was no transfer of goodwill, trading name, employees, maintenance contracts, book debts, vehicles, tools, stationery or livery. The claimant’s accrued employment rights therefore did not transfer to the second respondent, and the second respondent was dismissed from the proceedings.

Because the claimant’s continuous employment restarted on 12 February 2018, he had not completed two years’ continuous employment by the effective date of termination in September 2019. His claim for a statutory redundancy payment was therefore dismissed under section 155 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. Against the first respondent, he succeeded in his remaining monetary claims: breach of contract for one week’s notice pay, accrued holiday pay for six days, and unlawful deductions of wages for unpaid wages, expenses and overtime.