Miss L Netherton v Jhoots Pharmacy Limited — 2022

Jhoots Pharmacy Limited conceded the claimant's claims for RX compliance deductions and for a shortfall in wages. The tribunal upheld the RX compliance claim only for the outstanding balance of £34.52, after the claimant accepted that the remaining sums had been paid, and upheld the shortfall claim in full at £1,110.84.

The holiday pay claim was clarified at hearing as relating to annual leave allegedly taken on 25 and 26 December 2018 and on 12 and 13 September 2019. For the December 2018 element, the tribunal found the claim was presented significantly outside the three-month time limit because the expected payment date was around 10 January 2019, and the later October 2019 claim did not form part of a series with the September 2019 deduction under Bear Scotland because the gap was more than three months. The tribunal also found it was reasonably practicable to present that part in time and declined to extend time.

For the September 2019 element, the tribunal accepted that the claim was in time but held that the claimant had not proved on the balance of probabilities that she was on holiday on 12 and 13 September 2019. The attendance register note referring to "2 days holiday 12+13" was treated as unreliable because the same record showed her as being at work on 3 September 2019, which she said was also annual leave. The holiday pay claim was therefore dismissed. The total gross award was £1,145.36.