Mr D Slifkin v GH Sheldon Wholesale Baker Limited — 2022

The claimant worked as a Transport Manager for the respondent from 10 May 2021 to 6 August 2021 at an agreed daily rate of £160. There was no written contract of employment. After Peter Oxton left, the claimant worked weekends as well as weekdays, and the respondent later said he had been overpaid because he did not work full days at weekends and should be paid only by reference to the clocking system.

The tribunal found that the respondent had an internal pro rata policy for daily-rate workers who worked less than eight hours, but that policy was never conveyed to the claimant verbally, in a contract, or through the employee handbook. In the absence of any other agreement, the claimant was entitled to his daily rate for each Saturday and Sunday he worked. The deduction of seven days' pay was therefore unlawful under section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The claimant was owed £1,120 in unpaid wages on termination; after crediting the £547.20 already paid on the final payslip, the award for unlawful deduction from wages was £572.80 gross.

The claimant gave one week's notice on 6 August 2021, but the respondent decided to summarily dismiss him and did not pay notice pay. The tribunal held that he was entitled to one week's notice under section 86 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and awarded £800 for breach of contract. It also applied regulation 14 of the Working Time Regulations 1998 and found that, because no leave had been taken and 25% of the leave year had expired, the claimant had accrued seven days' holiday entitlement, worth £1,120.

Because the respondent had not provided a written statement of employment particulars and there was no contract of employment, the tribunal made an additional award under section 38 of the Employment Act 2002. It assessed that award at four weeks' pay, namely £3,200.