Ms C Marcus-Dew v Jublee Number 7 Limited — 2022

Ms C Marcus-Dew was employed by Jublee Number 7 Ltd from 11 April 2015 until she resigned on 23 September 2020. The tribunal proceeded in the respondent's absence under Rule 47, accepted the claimant's evidence on the key facts, and substituted the respondent's name to Jublee Number 7 Ltd. It found that the claimant's salary was not paid at all for February, March, June, July and August 2020, and was only partly paid for April and May 2020, contrary to an express contractual term providing for a salary of £50,000 per year paid monthly.

The tribunal held that the repeated failure to pay salary was a cumulative repudiatory breach of contract. It found that the claimant resigned because of that breach and had not affirmed the contract by delay, so the claim succeeded as a constructive dismissal under section 95(1)(c) of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The tribunal also found a separate repudiatory breach of the implied term of trust and confidence in relation to the disciplinary process: the claimant was suspended on 10 March 2020, sent an accusatory letter two weeks later, experienced substantial and unexplained delay in the process, and never received a disciplinary outcome before resigning.

On remedy, the tribunal awarded a basic award of £2,152, calculated on four weeks' gross pay at £538. It assessed compensatory loss at £21,682 after offsetting net earnings against projected loss of £49,250, then applied a 25% ACAS uplift of £5,420 to reach £27,102. It further accepted future loss and loss of statutory rights at £7,390, applied a further 25% uplift of £1,847, and brought the compensatory element to £36,339. The total award was £38,491.