Mr P Griffiths v First Trenitalia West Coast Rail Limited — 2024

Mr Griffiths brought a claim for unauthorised deductions from wages arising from the respondent's decision to stop company sick pay during a long sickness absence that began on 5 June 2023. The tribunal found that the relevant sick pay terms were incorporated into his contract via the handbook, and that after the initial self-certification period his absence was medically certified by Fit Notes. It accepted that the handbook made company sick pay available to an employee with his length of service unless an express exception applied.

The tribunal rejected the respondent's submission that paragraph 7.2.1 of the handbook, requiring an employee to keep their manager informed, was itself a condition of continued sick pay. It held that the handbook did not clearly say that failure to communicate would remove entitlement to pay, and that the express loss-of-pay situations in paragraph 7.2.5 were limited to refusal to undergo a medical assessment or examination, or absence while facing disciplinary proceedings. On that basis, the stoppage of company sick pay from 3 July 2023 was not justified, and the claim succeeded for the period 3 July 2023 to 23 November 2023.

The tribunal also considered the later occupational health appointments. It found that Mr Griffiths had no intention of attending occupational health, but that he could not properly be treated as having refused an assessment until his letter received on 23 November 2023, which the tribunal construed as an express refusal to attend future appointments in the circumstances. From 24 November 2023 onwards, the respondent was entitled to withhold company sick pay under the handbook. The tribunal did not determine the amount of compensation at the liability hearing, leaving that for agreement or a remedy hearing.