T Kerrigan v Chesters Bar Ltd — 2022

The claim form presented on 9 January 2022 sought a redundancy payment and payment for unpaid holiday outstanding at the end of employment. No Response was presented. The Notice of Hearing was served on the respondent at its registered Companies House address, the tribunal was satisfied that the respondent knew of the hearing, and it proceeded in the respondent's absence in the interests of justice and the overriding objective.

The claimant gave evidence and the tribunal found that she had been employed as a bar tender from 1 March 2014 to 4 March 2021 at the Thames Estuary Automobile Club. Although the respondent legal entity had only existed since November 2019, the tribunal accepted that it was the same people and the same business throughout the claimant's employment and concluded that she retained sufficient continuity of service by reason of successive TUPE transfers.

The tribunal found that in or around October 2021 the claimant was told by her manager and Ms Chelsea Highington that it was not viable for her to work at the Club any longer because of the fall in business. It concluded that the reason for dismissal was redundancy, because the Club was quiet and there was no need for the claimant to continue doing the work she had been doing one day a week. The claimant had not received a redundancy payment or payment for accrued but untaken holiday.

On remedy, the tribunal awarded a redundancy payment of £556.50. It found that the claimant was aged over 41, had 7 years of continuous employment, and was entitled to 1.5 weeks' pay for each year of service, producing 10.5 weeks at £53 per week. It also accepted as credible and reliable the claimant's evidence that Ms Highington had verbally admitted that £221.80 was due for accrued and outstanding holiday pay, and awarded that sum. The total amount payable was £778.30.