Ms K Annesley v Brampton Manor Salon &Tea Rooms Ltd Heard: Papers only On: 12 January 2023 — 2023

The claimant, a beauty therapist, began employment on 6 March 2015. Her 2021 written contract stated 16 basic hours per week at £10 per hour, but the tribunal found the parties had varied the arrangement by conduct so that she regularly worked and was paid for additional hours. The tribunal nevertheless held that for statutory purposes her normal working hours remained 16 rather than 26, which mattered for the redundancy and holiday calculations. She began maternity leave on 18 December 2021 and had planned to return in September 2022.

The salon at Brampton Manor closed in or around April 2022. In late May and 1 June 2022 the respondent told the claimant that the business had ceased trading, that maternity pay and accrued holiday were being paid, and that any redundancy payment would need to be claimed from the National Insurance Fund. The tribunal held that, viewed objectively and in context, those communications amounted to a dismissal and that the reason for dismissal was redundancy.

The unfair dismissal claim was dismissed. The tribunal accepted that there had been no formal consultation or offer of alternative employment before termination, but held that these were exceptional circumstances because the claimant knew the Brampton Manor salon would not continue, had been aware of plans connected with a separate venture, and had substantial warning that the workplace would no longer exist. The judge also said that, even if the dismissal had been unfair, the case was a Polkey situation and no compensatory award would have been made because the employment would have ended in any event before the end of maternity leave.

The claimant succeeded on redundancy pay, notice pay, and holiday pay on termination. Redundancy pay was assessed at £1,120. Notice pay was £23.38 after credit was given for statutory maternity pay already paid for the notice period. Holiday pay on termination was £89.20 and was awarded only under the WTR/unlawful deductions route, not as breach of contract. The total award made by the judgment was £1,232.58.