In Person For the v Mr Kularatne (director of the company) — 2022

The tribunal heard a single breach of contract claim concerning notice pay. The claimant said he was not given notice until 31 October 2019 and was therefore owed one month’s wages in lieu of notice from that date. The respondent relied on a termination letter dated 1 October 2019, signed by Mr Kularatne and witnessed on 7 October 2019, and a further letter dated 16 October 2019 said to refuse an extension of the notice period.

The tribunal heard oral evidence from the claimant and Mr Kularatne but neither party had complied with directions: no witness statements were produced, the respondent’s bundle was not paginated, and the claimant’s documents were not available in an accessible format. The tribunal therefore decided the case without the claimant’s documents and considered it disproportionate to adjourn given the modest issues in dispute.

On the evidence available, the tribunal preferred Mr Kularatne’s account and found that notice had been given on 7 October 2019. It therefore found that the claimant was dismissed on 31 October 2019 having received his contractual notice entitlement up to that date, but that he remained entitled to 7 days of notice pay. The reasons calculate that entitlement as £436.16 using the respondent’s net monthly pay figure, while the judgment section orders payment of £436.17 net of tax.

The claimant did not pursue any other causes of action at the hearing, and any other claims were dismissed for completeness.