Mr C Wilkinson 1st v Areaworks Group Limited (in voluntary liquidation). 2nd Respondent: Mr L Ramsden 3rd Respondent: Mr P Lawrence London Central: in person on 9-13 October 2023 — 2023

The tribunal upheld Mr Wilkinson's ordinary unfair dismissal claim under s.98 ERA 1996 against R1, but dismissed the automatically unfair dismissal claims under ss.103A and 104 ERA 1996. It also upheld the wrongful dismissal claim. On remedy, the tribunal found that had a fair procedure been followed Mr Wilkinson would have remained employed for the first two months after dismissal, and that thereafter there was an 80% chance he would have been fairly dismissed for redundancy. The compensatory award was therefore limited on a Polkey basis after 14 July 2021, then increased by 25% because R1 had materially breached the ACAS Code of Conduct.

The tribunal found that disclosure 4 on the claimant's list of issues was a qualifying protected disclosure, and that detriments 5, 6, 7, 9 and 11 succeeded. The discrimination claims, namely direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation under the Equality Act 2010, all failed and were dismissed. For the detriments, the tribunal awarded £15,000 for injury to feelings and £5,000 for aggravated damages, then applied a 25% ACAS uplift to reach £25,000, which it recorded as the joint and several liability of R1 and R3. The tribunal said that award related to pre-dismissal detriments and was not subject to grossing up.

The tribunal also upheld the claim for failure to pay a contractual bonus and unpaid wages under s.23 ERA 1996, alternatively described as breach of contract. It awarded £5,712.62 for the bonus and unpaid wages, and interest of £2,585.09 on the wrongful dismissal award plus £1,086.81 on the bonus and wage award, giving total interest of £3,671.90. The tribunal awarded a basic award of £2,448 and a compensatory award of £12,495.86 for unfair dismissal, and £10,874.11 for wrongful dismissal. After avoiding double recovery between the unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal awards, it recorded R1's liability at £25,412.41 and R1 and R3's joint and several liability at £25,000.