Mr J Bhurabhai v Akquire Points Ltd (in liquidation) — 2018

The tribunal heard this as a Rule 21 undefended case after the respondent did not attend. It found that an employment contract had been formed through Slack discussions, that the claimant worked for Akquire Points Ltd between 18 October 2017 and 24 September 2018, and that his agreed salary was £45,000 per year, with payment deferred. It rejected the claimant's case that there was a clear and certain agreement about share options.

On 24 September 2018 the respondent summarily dismissed the claimant without notice. The tribunal found there was no contractual basis for that and held that only the statutory minimum notice period of one week applied. It also found that the salary deferral term operated only while the claimant remained employed, so termination triggered entitlement to the deferred salary then outstanding.

The breach of contract claim therefore succeeded on both the notice point and the deferred salary point, but the tribunal capped the net loss award at £25,000 because the combined loss exceeded that limit. It also rejected any award for unauthorised deduction from wages, finding there were no agreed dates during employment on which wages were due and therefore no deduction occasions within section 13(3) ERA 1996.

The tribunal separately awarded £3,142.87 for holiday pay under the Working Time Regulations 1998, calculated from the pro-rated 5.6 weeks' entitlement less the bank holidays already taken. It further made a section 38 Employment Act 2002 order for failure to provide written particulars and awarded the higher amount of four weeks' pay, £3,461.52, because of the contract breach, the holiday pay failure, and the complete failure to supply written particulars. It gave no credit for Universal Credit and recorded that the awards were not within the recoupment scheme.