Miss E Scorgie Miss S Lomas v Golden Egg Group Limited — 2023

Both claimants worked for Golden Egg Recruitment Group Limited from 3 February 2020, and the respondent's response was struck out for non-compliance with an unless order. The final hearing proceeded on the claimants' evidence and documents, and the tribunal found persistent problems with payslips, PAYE registration and payment of wages before and after the move to Golden Egg Group Limited.

The tribunal found a TUPE transfer from Recruitment to Golden Egg Group Limited on 17 August 2020. It held that Recruitment's liabilities transferred subject to TUPE regulation 8(5) for insolvency-related arrears and holiday pay, and that pension liabilities were excluded by TUPE regulation 10. On the dismissal claims, the tribunal found that the late payment of full August 2020 wages was a breach of contract but not a deliberate refusal or a fundamental breach going to the root of the contract, so neither claimant had been constructively dismissed. The wrongful dismissal claims also failed because both claimants resigned with immediate effect rather than serving the contractual month's notice.

On protected disclosures, the tribunal held that the February 2020 data-protection complaints, the April and May 2020 queries about P60s, payslips and PAYE records, and Miss Lomas's 16 April 2020 call to HMRC were qualifying and protected disclosures. It did not make a finding on Miss Lomas's alleged 22 August 2020 HMRC call. D1, removing both claimants from the company WhatsApp group, and D2, a WhatsApp message blaming them for contacting HMRC, were detriments done on the ground of those disclosures. D3, the non-payment of wages, was not.

Each claimant was awarded £11,000 for injury to feelings for the whistleblowing detriments, assessed at the lower end of the middle Vento band. The tribunal found no financial loss or personal injury caused by D1 or D2, but it increased the relevant awards by 20% under s.207A TULRCA because the respondent unreasonably failed to deal with the grievances. The final sums payable for the detriment awards formed part of the overall totals due within 14 days.

The tribunal also upheld the claims for unpaid August and early September 2020 wages and accrued holiday pay. It ordered Golden Egg Group Limited to pay Miss Scorgie £1,640.74 for wages and £54.93 for holiday pay, and Miss Lomas £2,273.23 for wages and £275.94 for holiday pay. The separate allegations of underpayment from March to July 2020 and deductions for tax and national insurance not being remitted to HMRC failed, as did the pension auto-enrolment breach-of-contract claims. The tribunal declared that no itemised pay statements had been provided under s.8 ERA 1996, but made no monetary award. The total payable within 14 days was £15,234.80 to Miss Scorgie and £16,259.00 to Miss Lomas, a combined total of £31,493.80.