Dr K Hewlett (all dates except 18 January) and Ms S Cullen (18 January only) For the v Mr P Gupta and Mrs R Gupta — 2022

The tribunal found that the claimant was a person with disability by virtue of dyslexia, but it rejected the disability discrimination claims because the respondents did not have actual or constructive knowledge of the disability. The tribunal did not accept the alleged 2018 disclosure, noted that there were no references to dyslexia in the later communications between the parties, and held that the s.15 claim would in any event have failed on the facts. It also held that the alleged written-response practice was not a PCP, but rather individual management decisions, applying Ishola v TfL.

On unfair dismissal, the tribunal held that the operative dismissal was the summary dismissal on 22 April 2020. It found that the reasons were a breakdown in communication, altered reliability and attendance, the claimant's allegation that she had been asked to work at unavailable times, her demand for a 100% Covid-free workplace, and the resulting loss of trust and confidence. Those matters were capable of amounting to a potentially fair reason for dismissal, but the dismissal was procedurally unfair because the respondents did not engage in a proper dialogue, provide a clear written summary of concerns, offer meaningful accompaniment, or provide an effective appeal. The tribunal also found contributory conduct and applied Polkey, concluding that if the claimant had not been dismissed she would likely have remained employed until 7 July 2020.

The holiday pay claim failed because the contract provided for holiday pay and the tribunal found it had been paid in full. The claim for arrears of pay for March 2020 also failed: the claimant was not entitled to pay for 17 March because she was off sick and below the SSP threshold, not entitled to pay for 24 March because she had made herself unavailable for that shift, and not entitled to pay for 25 March because it was school holiday. On remedy, the tribunal awarded £189 for notice pay, reduced the unfair dismissal basic award to £81 and the compensatory award to £108, and added a 10% ACAS uplift of £37.80, making a total sum ordered payable of £415.80.