Mrs A Potts v Quick Mobile Fix Limited — 2022

Mrs A Potts brought claims against Quick Mobile Fix Limited for unpaid wages and wages in lieu of untaken holiday at the end of her employment. By consent, the tribunal recorded Quick Mobile Fix Limited as the correct respondent. The respondent did not attend the hearing, did not provide an explanation for its absence, and the tribunal decided it was in the interests of justice to proceed in its absence.

The tribunal noted that the respondent’s ET3 effectively accepted that money was owed, but said it would pay when its offices opened and referred to the business having been closed owing to Covid and having no income. The tribunal treated ability to pay as irrelevant to liability and the value of the claims. Because neither party had complied with earlier directions about filing documents, the tribunal worked from the figures in the ET1, which the respondent had not disputed.

For unpaid wages, the tribunal found that the claimant had not been paid from 1 October 2021 until the end of her notice period on 18 January 2022. That period was found to be 15 weeks and 3 days, or 78 working days. On the basis of a gross weekly wage of £384 and a daily rate of £76.80, the tribunal calculated the unpaid wages claim at £5,590.40 gross.

For holiday pay, the claimant explained that she had taken no paid holiday in the year before the end of employment because she was first on furlough and then not being paid. She claimed 28 days, being the statutory minimum, and the tribunal accepted that figure. Applying the same daily rate of £76.80, it awarded £2,150.40 gross for untaken holiday. The total monetary award was therefore £7,740.80 gross, with the claimant responsible for tax and national insurance on both sums.