Mr E Horta v Playworks Limited — 2022

The claimant, Mr E Horta, worked for Playworks Limited as a barback and later bartender on a zero-hours contract from 17 July 2009. The tribunal found that he was an employee within section 230 ERA 1996 and had more than two years' continuous employment within section 108 ERA 1996. It also accepted that his hourly rate in the months before March 2020 was £8.50 and that the respondent paid furlough up to 31 July 2020.

The tribunal found that the respondent stopped trading after the March 2020 lockdown and that the claimant made repeated attempts from March 2020 onwards to contact management about his position. It accepted that he only learned in September 2021, after speaking to HMRC, that his contract had been terminated on 5 April 2021. On that basis the tribunal held that it was not reasonably practicable for the claim to have been presented within three months of the effective date of termination, and that it was presented within a further reasonable period after the claimant became aware of the dismissal.

On unfair dismissal, the tribunal found that the respondent had not informed the claimant of any termination, had given no notice, and had followed no procedure. It held that the dismissal fell within section 95(1)(a) ERA 1996 and that, because no reason was provided and no fair process was followed, the dismissal was unfair.

On holiday pay, the tribunal found that the claimant's contract entitled him to 5.6 weeks' leave each year, that the holiday year ran from 1 February to 31 January, and that he had taken no holiday in that period. It concluded that he was entitled to payment in lieu of accrued but untaken holiday on termination. The redundancy payment complaint was withdrawn by the claimant at the outset of the hearing. The tribunal did not determine remedy figures in this decision and said further information was required before remedy could be considered on the successful complaints.