Miss A Soakell v Clear Finance Ltd and 1 other — 2019

Miss A Soakell began employment with Clear Finance Ltd on 30 June 2014. Her employment transferred to Different Ltd under TUPE on 1 April 2019. At the date of transfer she was owed £20,218.07 in gross unpaid wages, and by the time her employment ended on 17 July 2019 a further £3,434.83 had accrued, giving a total of £23,652.90 unpaid wages.

Neither respondent presented a response. The tribunal dealt with the case under rule 21 of the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure 2013 and held a preliminary hearing on 30 October 2019 after Employment Judge Garnon directed that further information was needed about why the claim was brought against two respondents. The claimant explained that the unpaid wages had built up over time, were due on each pay date, and were to be paid by Mr Bolton.

The tribunal accepted that liability for the unpaid wages outstanding at the date of the relevant transfer passed to Different Ltd under regulation 4(2) of the TUPE 2006 Regulations, and that the later monthly sums remained payable by the transferee employer. It therefore held the unlawful deduction from wages claim against the second respondent to be well founded and ordered payment of £23,652.90 gross.

The tribunal also found that the business effectively closed when the office closed on 17 July 2019, so the claimant's dismissal was by reason of redundancy within section 139 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. She had five continuous years' service, was aged 49 at termination, and earned £384.62 per week. The tribunal held that a statutory redundancy payment was due and ordered the second respondent to pay £2,884.55. The hearing listed for 2 January 2020 was cancelled.