Mr SJ Hollis v MicroProducts Systems Limited — 2022

The tribunal dealt with the claimant's notice pay claim and the respondent's counterclaim under rule 37(1)(e). It held that both turned on disputed questions about what work the claimant was instructed to do, whether he was in insubordination, and whether the parties' accounts could be tested fairly without oral evidence and cross-examination. The claimant's breach of contract claim for notice pay was therefore struck out, and the respondent's contract claim was also struck out, subject to any further representations.

The tribunal upheld the claim for unlawful deductions from wages for April 2020. The respondent admitted that the claimant had not been paid for April, and the tribunal found that he remained entitled to wages up to the termination date of 13 April 2020. It rejected the respondent's argument that no payment was due because no work had been done after 24 March 2020, and awarded 9 days' net pay of £514.26. In reaching that conclusion, the judgment referred to Horcal Ltd v Gatland, Brandeaux Advisers (UK) v Chadwick, and Item Software v Fassihi on the principle that wages remain payable until the contract ends.

The tribunal also upheld the pension contributions deduction claim. It found that the deductions shown on the payslips exceeded the amounts actually paid to NEST because tax relief had effectively been counted twice in payroll entries. The tribunal calculated unauthorised deductions of £558.06 gross. It further upheld the holiday pay claim, finding that 3 days' untaken holiday remained on termination and rejecting the respondent's attempt to set off time taken in an earlier holiday year because reg. 15 of the Working Time Regulations 1998 gives a termination entitlement to payment in lieu.

Finally, the tribunal found that the written statement of particulars omitted required information about sick pay and collective agreements, so s.38 Employment Act 2002 was triggered. It made the mandatory minimum additional award of two weeks' pay, £730.76, and rejected the higher award. The total award recorded in the judgment was £1,974.50.