Mr Nicolas Casson v Sussex Independent Financial Advisers Ltd — 2023

Mr Casson brought a claim for payment in lieu of notice arising out of the end of his employment with Sussex Independent Financial Advisers Ltd on 7 November 2022. The tribunal recorded that he had worked for less than two years, so he had no unfair dismissal claim. The main issues were whether he had completed probation and whether he was dismissed or had resigned.

On the probation issue, the tribunal accepted that the relevant employment document did not state that probation had been passed. It found that the memorandum produced at the hearing was a mixed review, containing both positive comments and references to performance and communication issues, and that it did not expressly say probation had been completed or extended. The tribunal therefore found that Mr Casson had not completed probation and that, if dismissed, he was entitled to one month’s notice.

On the termination issue, the tribunal preferred the claimant’s account. It relied on the CCTV evidence showing Mr Casson waiting outside for his belongings to be brought out, the letter written by Mr Hopper-Young on 7 November 2022 stating that the contract had been terminated, and the absence of any written resignation as contemplated by the handbook. The tribunal found that the words attributed to Mr Casson, even if said, did not clearly and irrevocably amount to a resignation, and it found that he was dismissed by the respondent on 7 November 2022.

The tribunal awarded Mr Casson £2,916.67 gross in lieu of notice, reflecting his agreed gross monthly pay and the one month notice period it found applied.