Miss Lisa Wilkinson v Miss Gurshital Gill — 2023

Miss Lisa Wilkinson brought claims for unfair dismissal and unpaid holiday pay against Miss Gurshital Gill. The tribunal found that she had started work on 15 January 2018 and had been dismissed with an effective date of termination of 16 September 2022. The case was heard by Employment Judge Anderson sitting alone.

On unfair dismissal, the tribunal held that the reason for dismissal was conduct, not capability. It found that the investigation was limited at best, that nothing was put to the claimant before dismissal, that there was no disciplinary hearing in any form, and that the dismissal decision had already been formed before the dismissal letter. The tribunal concluded that the dismissal was unfair because the process and investigation fell outside the range of reasonable responses.

On remedy, the tribunal accepted that a fair dismissal could still have occurred in any event for Some Other Substantial Reason, namely the respondent's loss of trust in the claimant in the context of an intimate carer relationship. Compensation was therefore limited to one week's net pay of £213.12, uplifted by 10% for an unreasonable failure to follow the ACAS Code, giving a compensatory award of £234.43. The basic award was calculated on gross weekly pay of £217 multiplied by 1.5 and four years' service, producing £1,302.00. The tribunal did not reduce the basic award for contributory fault.

The unpaid holiday pay claim was dismissed. The tribunal found that the holiday year began on 15 January under the signed contract and, accepting the respondent's evidence about leave taken, held that the claimant had used up her accrued holiday entitlement in 2022, including the paid Queen's Jubilee bank holiday. It therefore found that no holiday pay remained outstanding.