Ms A Tran v Stockedmarkets Ltd (in voluntary liquidation) — 2022

Ms Tran was employed by Stockedmarkets Ltd as HR Director from 2 August 2021. She resigned on 1 December 2021 on three months' notice. The tribunal found that a termination package had been agreed with the respondent, through Mr Michael Goddard, totalling £41,108 gross, made up of one day's wages for 1 December 2021, three months' payment in lieu of notice, untaken accrued holiday pay, and unpaid employer pension contributions.

The respondent did not dispute that the claimant was entitled to be paid on termination, but asked to pay the sums in three instalments over three months because of cash flow problems, with the last instalment due on 28 February 2022. The claimant agreed to that arrangement, but the respondent did not make the payments despite repeated chases and assurances by email and telephone. The tribunal accepted the claimant's documentary evidence, including her contract, payslips, bank transfer evidence, and correspondence, and found her to be an honest and reliable witness.

The tribunal was satisfied that the respondent had breached the contract by failing to pay the amounts due on termination. It noted that deductions for tax and NI had been made from salary payments for August to November 2021, but it was not clear whether those deductions had in fact been paid to HMRC on the claimant's behalf. The respondent entered voluntary liquidation on 15 August 2022 and the liquidators were notified of the hearing but did not attend.

The tribunal found that the claimant's gross loss was £41,108, but its jurisdiction for breach of contract claims in the employment tribunal was limited to £25,000 under article 10 of the Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction (England and Wales) Order 1994. The claimant was therefore awarded £25,000 in damages for breach of contract.