Ms E L Huscroft v Kingly Solicitors Ltd. t/a Coles Solicitors (in voluntary liquidation) — 2021

The respondent's offices were closed on 12 August 2020 following an intervention by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The claimant, a solicitor employed since 19 October 2015, was dismissed by reason of redundancy on that date. She had already received final pay to the end of July 2020, but no further payment for redundancy, notice, accrued holiday, expenses, or wages for 1 to 12 August 2020.

The tribunal dismissed the redundancy payment claim because the claimant had already received a statutory redundancy payment from the Redundancy Payments Service. It upheld the breach of contract claim for notice pay, holiday pay and unpaid expenses, finding a contractual entitlement to 3 months' notice, 7.5 days' accrued but untaken holiday, and unpaid expenses of £294.20. The awards were limited by the claimant's new employment on 1 September 2020 and by sums already received from the Redundancy Payments Service, producing a breach of contract award of £1,738.02.

The tribunal also upheld the unlawful deduction from wages claim for the period 1 to 12 August 2020 and awarded £1,520.01 plus £106.44 employer pension contributions. It found the dismissal procedurally unfair, but no basic award was payable because of the statutory redundancy payment and the compensatory award was reduced by 100% under Polkey because the claimant would still have been dismissed when the offices closed. A separate award of £1,576.92 was made under section 38 of the Employment Act 2002 for failure to provide a compliant written statement of particulars or changes. The total award was £4,941.39, and no ACAS uplift was made.