In person For the v Ms K Zakrzewska, litigation consultant — 2020

Mr G Lawson was employed by OfficeServe Limited from 28 May 2019 as a full stack developer. He resigned on 11 March 2020 and gave extended notice to 29 May 2020 so that the respondent could plan for his departure. The respondent accepted that resignation, but after the business was affected by the coronavirus pandemic it told him that his employment would instead end on 8 April 2020, and the claimant maintained that he was entitled to the longer notice period he had given.

The unfair dismissal complaint was withdrawn because the claimant did not have two years' continuous employment. The tribunal therefore recorded that complaint as dismissed on withdrawal. The substantive issues left for decision were whether the respondent had failed to pay accrued but untaken holiday and whether it had breached the contract by not giving the contractual notice period.

On holiday pay, the respondent conceded that the claimant was entitled to 33 days' annual leave, that the three days carried over from 2019 had been taken with permission, and that the day booked on 13 March 2020 should be treated as sick leave because he was ill with flu. The tribunal calculated that 112/356 of the leave year had accrued, equivalent to 10.13 days, and at the agreed net daily rate of £122.29 the amount due was £1,238.80 net. The judgment recorded that this sum was payable under regulation 14 of the Working Time Regulations 1998 and under the contract, and also referred to it as recoverable in the alternative as an unlawful deduction from wages.

On notice, the tribunal held that the respondent was in breach of contract in giving notice on 24 March 2020 to expire on 8 April 2020. The claimant was entitled to the balance of his notice period, which the tribunal described as one week and four days, and the parties agreed that the resulting damages were £1,100.61 net. The tribunal also made a preparation time order because it considered the respondent's position on holiday entitlement and backdating notice to have no reasonable prospects of success; it assessed 30 hours at £40 per hour, making £1,200.