Deborah Poole v Mitie Limited — 2019

The Claimant alleged that a contractually binding verbal agreement had been made with her contract manager, Ms Vereker, under which her salary would rise from £40,000 to £45,000 after a period in the Senior Health Care Professional role, and later to £50,000 following completion of a Licentiate exam. The Tribunal accepted that the Claimant and her colleagues genuinely believed there had been discussions about a future salary increase, but found that the evidence did not establish a binding agreement on the balance of probabilities.

The Tribunal placed weight on the lack of contemporaneous documents recording a promised £45,000 salary, the temporary change of contract form stating £40,000, and evidence that approval for contractual changes required senior sign-off. It also noted that the Claimant's later correspondence referred to Ms Vereker hoping for an increase or agreeing £40,000 with a view to an increase, which the Tribunal found lacked the certainty required for a contractual term. The unlawful deduction claim based on the alleged salary agreement was therefore dismissed.

The Tribunal upheld the maternity bonus claim. It found that the Respondent's communications about its new maternity policy indicated that the enhanced maternity package and return to work bonus applied to all eligible salaried employees, with no carve-out for employees on transferred terms. The Claimant was entitled to two weeks' gross pay based on her return salary of £42,500, producing an award of £1,634.61.