Mr A Abdi v Sidwell Regeneration Ltd (In Creditors Voluntary Liquidation) — 2019

The claim form referred to unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal and unlawful deduction of wages in relation to unpaid holiday pay. The respondent filed no response, and a Rule 21 default judgment was entered on 4 September 2019. The hearing on 23 September 2019 before Employment Judge Rachel Broughton, sitting alone, was therefore a remedy hearing and a hearing to determine the effective date of termination.

The claimant had worked for the respondent from 15 November 2007, following a TUPE transfer on 1 July 2017, as a security officer. His unchallenged evidence was that from December 2017 he normally worked two 12-hour shifts each week, on Friday and Saturday, and that he had taken annual leave on 8 and 9 November 2018. On 17 November 2018 he received a text from the operations manager saying he was not on the roster, should not attend that night or he would be sent home, and that the reason would be discussed on Monday. The claimant did not attend work again after that date.

Applying section 97(1) ERA 1996 and the approach in Chapman v Letheby and Christopher Ltd, the tribunal found that the text could be treated as a dismissal communication as understood by an ordinary reasonable employee, and that any ambiguity should be resolved in the claimant's favour. It accepted the claimant's evidence that he understood his employment to have ended on 17 November 2018, and fixed that date as the effective date of termination.

The tribunal also found that no disciplinary or dismissal process had been carried out in relation to the alleged performance issues: the allegations were not clarified, the claimant was not given an opportunity to respond, and there was no hearing or appeal. On remedy, the claimant said he had looked for other work and started new employment on 18 March 2019. The revised schedule of loss led to a net award of £9,401.87, made up of a basic award of £2,644.50, a compensatory award of £6,046.25 including a 25% uplift, and holiday pay of £711.12. The tribunal recorded that the Recoupment Regulations did not apply.