Mr A Arroyo v ECMS Services Ltd — 2022

The claimant was employed as a cleaner from 17 October 2010 and, after transfer to ECMS Services Ltd on 17 August 2021, was working 25 hours a week at Sherbourne House. The tribunal found his contractual place of work was Sherbourne House, that the client asked for him to be removed on 16 September 2021 after a complaint about cleaning standards, and that removal from that site terminated the contract with an effective date of 16 September 2021.

At the end of the hearing the claimant sought to amend to add unfair dismissal, but the tribunal refused the amendment because it was made extremely late, would introduce a different cause of action requiring different evidence, was likely out of time, and would prejudice the respondent. The case therefore proceeded only on the payment claims in the ET1 and the agreed issues.

For unlawful deductions from wages, the tribunal held the respondent remained contractually obliged to pay 25 hours per week until termination and had no contractual basis to reduce pay without agreement. It found a shortfall of £720.50 after allowing for payroll payments that had been made, and it also awarded holiday pay of £123.63 on a pro rata accrual basis because no holiday had been taken between 17 August 2021 and 16 September 2021.

The wrongful dismissal claim succeeded because the claimant had 10 years' continuous service and was entitled to 10 weeks' statutory notice under section 86(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996; the respondent terminated the contract without notice and the tribunal awarded £2,687.50. The redundancy payment claim was dismissed because the tribunal found there was no diminution in the requirement for cleaning work at Sherbourne House on 16 September 2021; the claimant was removed because of the client complaint, so he was not made redundant.