Ms L Driscoll v Run Afan Forest Ltd — 2024

Employment Judge R F Powell, sitting by video on 19 April 2024, found that the claimant's breach of contract claim was well founded and ordered the second respondent to pay damages in the net sum of £2,564.95. The claim of unlawful deductions from wages also succeeded in respect of unpaid holiday pay, unpaid wages and unpaid pension contributions, with compensation ordered in the net sum of £2,314.63.

The tribunal refused an application by the respondent to adjourn the hearing to obtain bank statements relevant to a dispute over £300 of unpaid wages. The judge noted that the issue had not been pleaded, raised when agreeing the issues at the outset, put in cross-examination, or mentioned in the respondent's oral witness evidence, and that an adjournment would have required further service of documents and additional witness evidence which could not be accommodated in the remaining hearing time.

In light of the second respondent's assertion that it was soon going into receivership, the judge concluded that granting the late application was neither proportionate nor in the interests of justice, observing that another hearing could have been avoided if the second respondent had made reasonable efforts to prepare its case in a timely manner.