Mr S Orchard v Cyanic Resources Limited — 2024

At Manchester on 7 May 2024, before Employment Judge Leach, the tribunal heard Mr Orchard’s case and the respondent did not attend. It found that Mr Orchard had been constructively dismissed and that the dismissal was unfair. The judgment awarded a basic award of £5,139 and a compensatory award of £26,349.45. In the annex, the basic award was calculated on 6 years’ continuous employment, age 55, and a capped week’s pay of £571; the compensatory award comprised 29 weeks’ loss at £742.05 a week, a further £4,330 for later loss of earnings, and £500 for loss of statutory rights.

The tribunal also upheld the notice pay claim as a breach of contract. It held that Mr Orchard was entitled to 6 weeks’ notice but did not receive it, and awarded £6,346.14 damages calculated on gross pay to reflect the likelihood of post-employment notice pay treatment.

Holiday pay was also found to be a well-founded claim. The tribunal held that there had been an unauthorised deduction from wages because 10 days of holiday had accrued but not been taken when the employment ended, and it awarded £2,115.38. The wages claim was likewise upheld: the tribunal found an unauthorised deduction from wages in the period 17 to 25 August 2022 and awarded £1,057.69, being the gross sum deducted. The total monetary award was £41,007.66. The written record contains an internal date inconsistency, because the main judgment states the dismissal date was 3 January 2024, while the annex refers to 3 January 2023 in the basic award calculation.