Miss S Duval v YR Free Technologies Limited Heard: By video — 2023

The hearing concerned the Claimant's breach of contract complaint about the amount of notice given when her employment ended by reason of redundancy on 16 June 2022. The facts were not in dispute. The Claimant was the Respondent's Financial Controller and was given three weeks' notice. The Respondent had been acquired in May 2022 while in financial distress and the new owners sought cost savings, including the Claimant's redundancy.

The tribunal noted that there was no written contract of employment. The Respondent had taken advice and proceeded on the basis of the statutory notice provisions in section 86 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, under which the Claimant, with three complete years of service, was entitled to three weeks' notice. The tribunal accepted that if section 86 alone applied, the Respondent had complied with its notice obligations.

The tribunal then considered the common law position that an employee is entitled to reasonable notice, which may be longer than the statutory minimum. It accepted the Claimant's documentary evidence from recruitment agencies and from her later employment as showing that a three month notice period would usually apply to a financial controller. Taking account of the seniority and responsibility of the role and the salary of just over £47,000, the tribunal found that reasonable notice was three months.

The notice period should therefore have expired on 15 September 2022 rather than 7 July 2022. However, the Claimant started new employment on 1 August 2022 at a higher salary, so compensation was limited to the loss for the period between 8 July and 31 July 2022. The tribunal calculated this by reference to 16 working days at a gross daily rate of £181.73 and ordered the Respondent to pay £2,907.68.