Miss H Miles v Pride in Pets Limited Heard: via Cloud Video Platform in the Midlands (East) Region — 2021

Miss H Miles brought a claim for a statutory redundancy payment after her employment with Pride in Pets Limited ended on 30 November 2020. The respondent did not attend the final hearing. The tribunal amended the respondent's name to Pride in Pets Limited and heard evidence from the claimant only.

The tribunal found that the claimant had been employed from 17 July 2017 until 30 November 2020, that she had three complete years' continuous employment, and that her dismissal was by reason of redundancy when the business closed. It also found that she had not been paid a statutory redundancy payment and had been given four weeks' notice, which was more than her statutory notice entitlement.

The main issue was how to calculate a week's pay because the claimant had no normal working hours and was furloughed in the relevant period. The tribunal applied section 224 ERA 1996 and the 2020 Coronavirus furlough regulations, and found that the calculation date was 9 November 2020, being three weeks before termination when statutory notice would have had to be given. Because there was no evidence of the furlough payments or the reference salary used, the tribunal used the claimant's gross pay for the 2019-2020 tax year of £13,476.34, divided by 52, to reach a weekly pay figure of £259.16.

Using three weeks' pay under section 162 ERA 1996, the tribunal awarded a statutory redundancy payment of £777.48 and ordered the respondent to pay that sum to the claimant.