Mr A Ryba v Perfect Polish Enterprises Limited — 2021

Mr A Ryba brought a notice-pay complaint, a holiday pay complaint under regulation 14 of the Working Time Regulations 1998, and a claim for arrears of pay which he later withdrew. The tribunal also considered whether the respondent had failed to provide a written statement of initial employment particulars, because that issue affected the remedy on the holiday pay claim.

On notice pay, the tribunal found that no contract of employment had been issued, so the claimant’s notice entitlement was the statutory minimum under section 86 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. Because he had been employed for more than one month but less than two years, he was entitled to one week’s notice. The tribunal found that he was in fact given two weeks’ notice from 12 June 2020 to 26 June 2020, so the breach of contract complaint failed.

On holiday pay, the tribunal found that the claimant’s leave year began on 6 July 2019 because there was no contractual provision fixing a different leave year. It accepted that he had taken 7 days’ leave, that he had been paid for four public holidays during furlough, and that his final pay included 8 hours’ holiday pay. Applying a 35-hour working week and an average five-day week, the tribunal calculated 191.20 hours accrued, deducted 71 hours taken or already paid, and awarded £1,048.14 at the agreed hourly rate of £8.72.

Because the respondent had not given the claimant a written statement of initial employment particulars, the tribunal applied section 38 of the Employment Act 2002 and added the minimum uplift of two weeks’ pay, £610.40. That brought the total award to £1,658.54. The arrears-of-pay claim was withdrawn and dismissed.