Andrew Hibben v URBN UK Ltd — 2020

The claimant brought the case on 10 July 2020 and the respondent did not enter an appearance. The tribunal entered judgment under Rule 21 on the available material, finding that the claim form set out a coherent narrative and that the claimant had provided evidence from which loss could be calculated. The disability discrimination claim was marked in error and was dismissed on withdrawal.

On remedy for unfair dismissal, the tribunal accepted the claimant’s detailed schedule of loss and evidence of his unsuccessful search for work. It held that, in mid-November 2020 and during Covid-19 lockdown, it was unrealistic to expect him to obtain new employment within a year of dismissal, so the compensatory award was capped at one year’s pay. The tribunal also recorded that the dismissal had been by reason of redundancy and therefore there could be no Polkey or contributory conduct reductions.

The tribunal said there was no basic award because the claimant had already received a statutory redundancy payment of the equivalent amount. It ordered the respondent to pay £62,839.10 in total and stated that the detailed calculation had been prepared as if for the Recoupment Regulations.