Miss Aranzaza Gonzalez v La Portegna Limited — 2022

Miss Aranzaza Gonzalez was employed by La Portegna Limited as store manager from 9 August 2021 to 6 May 2022. The tribunal found that the draft contract, although never finalised, provided for 28 days' annual leave inclusive of public holidays and that the respondent had agreed to pay full pay during sickness absences, which it did in practice. It also found that the claimant's holiday entitlement and sickness absences had to be analysed by reference to the actual dates worked, taken as leave, or taken as sickness absence.

On notice, the tribunal found that the claimant was entitled to two weeks' notice under section 86 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 or the draft contract. Written notice given on 25 April 2022 expired on 6 May 2022, so there was a 3-day shortfall. The breach of contract claim therefore succeeded and the tribunal awarded £180.42 net, calculated from 3 days' gross pay at £76.71 per day and then converted by the claimant's usual net rate.

On wages, the tribunal applied section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and rejected the respondent's deductions from the April and May 2022 payroll. It found the deductions were not authorised by statute, by a written contractual term, or by any written agreement from the claimant, and that the respondent's attempt to treat notified sickness and coronavirus self-isolation as unauthorised absence was incorrect. The unlawful deductions from wages claim succeeded, with an award of £1,747.68 gross after deducting the notice-pay element already covered by the breach of contract award.

On holiday pay, the tribunal applied regulation 13 and regulation 14 of the Working Time Regulations 1998 and referred to Pereda v Madrid Movilidad SA and ANGED v FASGA. It accepted 25 and 26 December 2021 as paid leave during the store closure, excluded 27 and 28 December because they were non-working days, excluded 3 January 2022 because the claimant was ill, and excluded 2 May 2022 because the respondent had told her she need not work her notice and could not retrospectively allocate that day as annual leave. The tribunal found that 21 days had accrued, 16 days had been taken, and 5 days remained untaken, so it awarded £538.46 gross. The unfair dismissal claim was withdrawn, and the tribunal made no award for post-dismissal loss or for unsupported technical, support, or psychological expense claims. The total monetary award was £2,466.56.