Ms C Ibbotson (counsel) For the v Oxton Farm — 2023

The respondent did not present a response and did not attend. Pursuant to Rule 21 of the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure 2013, the tribunal gave judgment on the claim.

The claimant withdrew the unlawful deduction from wages complaint for the period 21 December 2022 to 7 January 2023, and that claim was dismissed on withdrawal. The tribunal found the holiday pay complaint well-founded, holding that 0.6 days' accrued but untaken holiday remained unpaid on termination. It awarded £68.68 gross plus a 25% ACAS uplift of £17.17.

The wrongful dismissal complaint also succeeded. The tribunal held that the respondent breached contract by dismissing the claimant without twelve weeks' notice and awarded £6,868.56 damages, treated as a gross sum, plus a 25% uplift of £1,717.14. The unfair dismissal complaint succeeded as well, with a basic award of £11,134.50 and a capped compensatory award of £29,763.76; the tribunal noted these unfair dismissal awards were not grossed up.

The tribunal further upheld the complaint that the respondent unreasonably failed to provide written reasons for dismissal following a written request, and awarded two weeks' pay of £1,142. It recorded that the respondent had unreasonably failed to comply with the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures and increased the awards in respect of wages, wrongful dismissal, unfair dismissal and holiday pay by 25%, subject to the cap point noted in relation to the unfair dismissal awards and the approach in Hardie Grant London Ltd v Aspden [2012] ICR D6 EAT.