In person v K Selves (General counsel) — 2023

Mr A W Barnett was employed by Dartmouth Partners Limited as Group Head of Financial Planning and Analysis from 16 May 2022 until 3 August 2023. He brought claims for unauthorised deduction from wages and unpaid holiday pay. The tribunal recorded that the parties had agreed the sums that would have been payable if the claims succeeded: £3,105.77 for 8.5 days' wages and £6,576.84 for 18 days' holiday pay.

On the wages claim, the tribunal found that after the claimant was told on 8 June 2023 that he was to be made redundant, he deliberately refused to undertake certain key aspects of his duties between 9 and 21 June 2023, including progressing the handover and taking part in schedule calls. It did not accept his explanation that he was awaiting legal advice or wished to raise a grievance in the way he described. Applying Miles v Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, the tribunal held that he was not entitled to choose which duties to perform and which to refuse, and that the respondent was entitled to treat the period as unauthorised absence. It therefore found that wages were not properly payable for that period and dismissed the unlawful deduction claim.

On the holiday pay claim, the tribunal relied on clause 18 of the contract, which provided that during garden leave the claimant would be deemed to take any accrued but unused holiday entitlement. It held that this contractual term constituted a relevant agreement for the purposes of regulation 15(5) of the Working Time Regulations, varying the default notice requirement under regulation 15. The claimant was placed on garden leave from 1 July 2023 until his employment ended on 3 August 2023, and the tribunal found that he had taken the 18 days' leave during that period. The claim for unpaid holiday pay was therefore dismissed.