Mr S Newey v Formby Models and Hobbies Ltd — 2024

The tribunal issued a Rule 21 judgment because the respondent did not present a response. The claimant, Mr S Newey, worked as a workshop repair and sales assistant for Formby Models and Hobbies Ltd from 10 June 1988 to 10 May 2024, working 16 hours per week over two days at £9.25 per hour. He had consented to be laid off from October 2022 until the business improved, and on 23 May 2024 he was told that the respondent had ceased trading on 10 May 2024.

The tribunal found that six weeks' wages from September to October 2022 had not been paid before the respondent ceased trading, and held that the claim for outstanding wages was well founded. It also found that the claimant's employment ended with immediate effect on 10 May 2024, that he was entitled to 12 weeks' notice under section 86 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, and that notice pay of £2,196.48 remained unpaid. A separate claim for accrued holiday pay succeeded because, on termination, the claimant had accrued 10 days' annual leave, producing a holiday pay award of £915.20 under regulation 14 of the Working Time Regulations 1998.

On redundancy, the tribunal found that the claimant was 70 years old and had worked for the respondent for 35 complete years. Applying section 164 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, and the cap in section 162(3) limiting the calculation to the most recent 20 years, it awarded a redundancy payment calculated at one and a half weeks' pay for each of those 20 years, producing £5,491.20. The judgment also included the standard notice on interest under the Employment Tribunals (Interest) Order 1990, stating that the relevant decision day was 26 November 2024 and the stipulated rate was 8% per annum, but no separate interest amount was assessed in the judgment.