Miss R H Finnerty v Census Data Ltd. — 2023

The respondent did not present an ET3 response, did not reply to the tribunal's communications, and did not attend the preliminary hearing on 26 October 2023. The tribunal therefore considered the claimant's documentary evidence and her evidence on oath. It found that the claimant had a contractual right to holiday pay and that the respondent had set her holiday pay rate below the statutory minimum, which the tribunal corrected for the claim period.

The tribunal found that the claimant was repeatedly refused permission to take holiday during her employment, apart from 4.5 days noted in her June 2021 payslip. It accepted that this refusal frustrated her attempts to use holiday, that she was required without consultation to take leave in December 2021 and January 2022, and that she had raised her outstanding holiday entitlement with Chief Operating Officer Kelly Coombes, also referred to as Kelly Carrel, in WhatsApp messages from March 2021. The tribunal found that the company policy and practice of rolling over holiday was not challenged by the respondent before resignation in February 2022.

The claimant was assured in writing by a senior manager that outstanding holiday pay due at termination would be paid in her final salary payment, but no holiday payment was made. The tribunal held that this was a breach of contract. It calculated the award on the basis of 5.6 weeks' holiday per year at a daily rate of £96.90 net of tax and NI, applying that rate to unpaid accrued holiday from 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22. It ordered the respondent to pay £6,501.99 within 14 days.