Claimant v Pet Brands Ltd — 2019

Mr Nigel Moult was employed by Pet Brands Ltd from 22 October 2018 as Commercial Director under a written contract. The tribunal found that the probationary period in the contract was limited to six months from commencement, so it expired on 22 April 2019, and that any extension would have had to be made before expiry. Because no valid extension was made, paragraph 13.1 applied and either party was required to give three months' notice in writing after successful completion of probation.

On the disputed meetings, the tribunal preferred the claimant's evidence. It found that the relevant meeting about probation took place on 21 May 2019, not 29 April 2019, and that the claimant did not unconditionally resign. The tribunal accepted that at the meeting with Mr Thompson on 21 June 2019, Mr Thompson believed the claimant had resigned and asked him to return company property, but the claimant protested that he had not resigned and was not given notice. The tribunal found that his employment ended when he was told to return company property, and that the respondent had treated the employment as at an end.

On remedy, the tribunal held that the claimant was entitled to be put in the position he would have been in had the contract been properly performed. It calculated three months' net pay at £10,500, three months' net car allowance at £875, employers' pension contributions at £900, medical insurance at £126, unpaid expenses at £165.14, and 6 days' net holiday pay at £1,050. The judgment records an award of £12,566.14 for breach of contract and a separate award of £1,050 for holiday pay, producing a total award of £13,616.14.