Mr R Radcliffe v YOLO London Ltd and 1 other — 2021

Mr R Radcliffe was employed as head chef under a written contract with The Commissary Kitchen Limited from 9 December 2019. The tribunal found that later paperwork naming YOLO Ltd / YOLO LTD(HWH), together with furlough-related emails and WhatsApp messages, did not show a legal transfer of employment to YOLO London Limited. It held that there was no notified change of employer and that Mr Radcliffe remained employed by The Commissary Kitchen Limited throughout, so the claim against YOLO London Limited was dismissed.

The tribunal found that Mr Radcliffe was not given notice on 22 March 2020 when the Haymarket Wine House closed. Although the respondents continued to pursue furlough registration through April and May 2020, the tribunal held that the employment did not end until 15 May 2020, when the HR consultant emailed notice with immediate effect and the claimant received a P45 showing 23 March 2020 as the termination date. It found that he was summarily dismissed without notice, although he had already been paid one week’s pay in lieu of notice and accrued holiday pay.

On the deduction claim, the tribunal found there was no written agreement to vary pay to 80% of wages, despite the WhatsApp message sent to employees on 27 March 2020. It concluded that the claimant had been paid only up to 22 March 2020 and was unpaid for 23 March 2020 to 15 May 2020. Applying section 13 ERA 1996, section 23 ERA 1996 and section 86 ERA 1996, it calculated the sum due on a gross basis at 7 weeks and 5 days at £596.00 per week, totalling £4,585.11. The tribunal noted that no further amount was due in respect of notice because pay in lieu had already been made, and that the second respondent said it had no funds to pay the award.