Mrs M Walker v Town & City Leisure Limited and 1 other — 2020

The judgment was issued under Rule 21 in the absence of any response form defending the claims. Town & City Leisure Limited was removed from the proceedings after the claimant asserted that it was not her employer, and the title of the second respondent was amended to Jordan Hart t/a Harts Amusements.

Against Jordan Hart, the tribunal entered judgment on the undefended claims. It found that the claimant was dismissed by reason of redundancy and was entitled to a redundancy payment of £6,655.50, of which £3,100.00 had already been paid, leaving £3,555.50 payable. It also found dismissal in breach of contract in respect of notice and awarded £3,132.00, being 12 weeks' notice at £261 per week gross, described as a net sum because it was likely to be subject to tax as Post Employment Notice Pay.

The tribunal further found an unauthorised deduction from wages in respect of holiday pay and ordered £835.20, representing 16 days at £52.20 per day. It found a breach of the obligation to provide a written statement of the main terms of employment and awarded a further four weeks' pay of £1,044.00.

The unfair dismissal complaint was held well founded, but no award was made because the basic award was extinguished by the statutory redundancy payment and no compensatory award was made, the tribunal finding that the closure of Harts Amusements on 13 November 2019 meant employment would have ended in any event. A separate complaint of unauthorised deductions in relation to pension contributions was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction under Somerset County Council v Chambers EAT/0417/12. The total amount payable to the claimant was £8,566.70, and the recoupment regulations were stated not to apply.