Miss S Lugo v A & L Restaurants Limited — 2020

The tribunal heard the case by telephone on 10 June 2020 and, after giving Miss Lugo an opportunity to make representations, struck out the whole claim. It first clarified that she remained employed and that she was claiming lost pay for a period of absence from work after an assault at work. She said she had been frightened to go to work, had seen her doctor, and had received Statutory Sick Pay for part of the period covered by the claim.

The tribunal held that the only claim before it was a claim under section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 for unlawful deduction of wages. It found that Miss Lugo was not contending that her employer had agreed she could be absent on full pay after the assault, that her contract entitled her to full pay when off sick, or that there was any written contractual term allowing the claimed payment. On that basis, the tribunal concluded that she had no reasonable prospect of showing that the wages she claimed were properly payable.

The claim was therefore struck out in its entirety. The tribunal noted that the complaint might potentially give rise to other claims, such as a personal injury claim or a harassment claim in the County Court, but those were outside the tribunal's jurisdiction on the facts as presented.