Mr M Taylor v Runtech North Limited — 2021

Mr M Taylor brought claims initially said to cover notice pay, holiday pay and a statutory redundancy payment, but by the hearing he confirmed that holiday pay and redundancy pay had been paid and that the only live issue was outstanding notice pay of £2,332.80. The Respondent accepted that this sum had not been paid, but said that it had only agreed to pay in lieu of notice by mistake because the contract did not permit it.

The tribunal found that on 2 November 2020 the Respondent told the Claimant in clear and unambiguous terms that his employment would end on that date and that he would be paid in lieu of his seven-week notice period. It held that the letter of 2 November 2020 contained the essential ingredients of a binding agreement: the Respondent offered to dispense with the requirement to work notice and to pay in lieu, and the Claimant accepted. The tribunal therefore found that the Claimant was contractually entitled to the notice payment.

The tribunal rejected the Respondent's argument that the letter was withdrawn or varied by mistake. It noted that no authority or evidence was provided to show a qualifying mistake, that there was no statutory bar to the Claimant accepting a payment in lieu of notice, and that the Respondent had not shown that the letter was issued by someone without authority, on a misunderstanding of instructions, or from an incorrect template. It also held that the notice could not be unilaterally withdrawn without the Claimant's consent, relying on the common law position and Harris and Russell Ltd v Slingsby.

On the alternative argument under section 91(4) ERA 1996, the tribunal found that the Claimant had not broken his contract: his employment had been varied and terminated on 2 November 2020. If that was wrong and employment instead ended on 18 December 2020, there was still no evidence that the Respondent had rightfully treated any alleged breach as terminating the contract. The claim therefore succeeded and the tribunal ordered payment of the outstanding gross sum of £2,332.80.