Ms T Ruwona v Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust — 2022

The claimant's employment ended by reason of redundancy on 9 April 2020. The dispute was whether earlier periods should count as continuous employment for statutory redundancy pay and notice pay. The tribunal found that, although the respondent's StaffBank agreement said it was not a contract of employment, the reality of the claimant's work from 17 November 2015 to 9 April 2017 was that she worked full-time hours as a substantive member of the team, with patients and research studies allocated to her. It found mutuality of obligation and concluded she was an employee during that period, which was continuous with her later fixed-term employment.

The tribunal rejected the claimant's case that her period studying for a Dietetics degree, NHS placements, bank work for Brighton and Sussex, or agency work through Mayday amounted to employment that preserved continuity through Period B. It found no employment relationship arising from the degree or placements, no umbrella contract or sufficient mutuality of obligation for the Brighton and Sussex bank work, and insufficient basis to find employment with Mayday or a transfer to the respondent.

On remedy, the tribunal held that the claimant had four full years of continuous employment for statutory redundancy pay purposes, so the statutory element should have been £2,152 rather than £1,614. It awarded the £538 shortfall. The contractual notice payment of eight weeks was found to be correct and above the statutory minimum. The tribunal declined to award additional compensation under s163(5) ERA 1996, an ACAS uplift under s207A TULRCA 1992, or a penalty under s12A Employment Tribunals Act 1996.