Mr S Nowicki Miss A Easby v Daves Aquarium Ltd — 2024

Both claims arose from the closure of a Leeds shop, Pet and Aquatic World at 206 Armley Road, in late January 2024. The Tribunal, sitting as Employment Judge JM Wade alone at a final hearing by CVP on 3 October 2024, proceeded in the absence of any response from the respondent. The Judge identified Daves Aquarium Ltd as the correct respondent employer pursuant to Rule 34, relying among other things on a redundancy application form on the company's headed paper found on Mr Nowicki's file, and was satisfied under Rule 91 that the claims had come to the company's attention via postings to its registered office, with no post returned.

Applying Selkent Bus Company Ltd v More and Cocking v Sandhurst (Stationers) Ltd, the Judge permitted Mr Nowicki's amendment to add a claim for damages for non-payment of employer pension contributions to the Nest scheme, finding that the balance of prejudice lay with him and that the respondent had had a full opportunity to participate. The Judge observed that the file gave the impression of an employing company which, although it had continued to trade post-pandemic until January 2024, had not fulfilled its obligations to provide payslips or otherwise keep up with its obligations to its staff, and that this continued on closure.

On disposal, with no response forms or grounds of resistance filed and no apparent arguable defence, the Judge gave final judgment so that the claimants could enforce. Mr Nowicki's claims succeeded in the total sum of £15,077.32 (statutory redundancy £7,033.50; notice pay £3,126.00; pension contribution damages £4,917.82). Miss Easby's claims succeeded in the total sum of £1,647.00 (statutory redundancy £1,098.00; holiday pay £549.00).