Sameera Khan v NRSRY Limited — 2023

Ms Khan, a nursery manager, was employed by NRSRY Limited from 19 April 2022 to 3 September 2022. She did not attend the telephone hearing on 30 January 2023, and Employment Judge Howden-Evans proceeded in her absence under rule 47 of the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure 2013 after waiting and considering the available material. The judge also noted that the respondent company had ceased trading but had not been dissolved, so the claim could proceed.

The respondent accepted that there was no defence to the unlawful deductions from wages and notice pay claims. The tribunal found that Ms Khan had not been paid for July and August 2022, and held that the respondent unlawfully deducted £5,000 from her wages. It also found that her employment had been terminated with insufficient notice and that, under section 86 Employment Rights Act 1996, she was entitled to one week's notice pay.

The judgment recorded that the dismissal was by reason of redundancy under section 139(1)(a)(i) Employment Rights Act 1996, but Ms Khan did not have the two years' continuous service needed to qualify for a redundancy payment. The tribunal also noted that claims for stress, physical distress and emotional distress could not be pursued in the employment tribunal. The total sum owed to Ms Khan was £5,451.38, made up of £5,000 outstanding wages and £451.38 notice pay. The tribunal further noted that the Employment Protection (Recoupment of Jobseekers Allowance & Income Support) Regulations 1996 did not apply to the award.