Ms T Lee v Airline Taxis Limited AT A HEARING — 2020

The case was heard remotely by telephone on 9 June 2020 before Employment Judge Lancaster, with the respondent entering no appearance and not attending. The tribunal proceeded under rule 21. Ms T Lee succeeded on automatic unfair dismissal under section 104 ERA 1996 because she had alleged an infringement of a statutory right, on wrongful dismissal in breach of contract, and on an unlawful deduction from wages claim relating to accrued holiday pay due at termination.

On remedy, the tribunal awarded £5,440 for 18 weeks' loss of earnings from the expiry of the proper notice period on 5 February 2020 to the hearing date, and £12,600 for a further 40 weeks' future loss of earnings. It added a 25% uplift of £4,510 to the unfair dismissal compensatory award because of the total failure to comply with the ACAS Code of Practice on disciplinary procedures.

For the wrongful dismissal claim, the tribunal awarded £420 in lieu of notice, calculated by reference to the claimant's average gross pay over the preceding 12 weeks, and a further 25% uplift of £105 for the same ACAS failure. It also awarded £546 gross for 1.3 weeks' holiday pay due and an additional £200 under section 24(2) ERA 1996 for further financial losses said to have been attributable in part to the final wage deduction.

The tribunal further awarded £1,680 under section 38 of the Employment Act 2002 for failure to give written particulars of employment. It recorded that the Employment Protection (Recoupment of Benefits) Regulations 1996 applied, with a total monetary award of £25,501, a prescribed element of £5,440, a prescribed period from 5 February 2020 to 9 June 2020, and an excess over the prescribed element of £20,061.