Mr Peter Cavill v Keepout Limited (in liquidation) — 2023

Mr Peter Cavill was employed by Keepout Limited as a window fabricator and installer from 8 May 2018 to 29 August 2022. The tribunal found that he was paid £3,962 gross per month (£2,933 net) and a gross weekly wage of £914.30. The respondent did not enter a response, did not appear and was not represented.

The tribunal upheld the Claimant's claims for unpaid August 2022 wages, accrued and unpaid holiday pay, redundancy pay and unpaid notice pay. It found that he had not been paid for August 2022 and awarded £3,962 gross. It accepted that he had 0.5 days of holiday outstanding for the relevant leave year and awarded £91.43 gross. It also found that he had been dismissed by reason of redundancy and calculated a redundancy payment of £2,284 using the statutory maximum week's pay of £571 and a multiplier of 4. The notice pay claim succeeded on the basis of a contractual entitlement to four weeks' notice, calculated at £3,657.23 gross.

The unfair dismissal claim also succeeded. The tribunal found that the dismissal was unfair because the Claimant had no warning of, or consultation about, his redundancy and no steps were taken to find alternative employment. In assessing compensation, it found that he was unemployed until mid-December 2022, received no state benefits, and then reasonably mitigated his loss by taking temporary work until 25 January 2023, when he started new permanent employment at a higher wage. It calculated immediate financial loss at £11,732 net for four months, deducted the notice pay already awarded and temporary earnings of £2,750, and assessed the compensatory award at £5,324.77. The basic award was nil because the redundancy payment had already been awarded.

The total payable by the respondent within 14 days was £15,319.43.