In person For the v B Peled — 2023

The claimant, Ms E Lewin, was employed by the respondent, Barak Peled, as head chef from 6 June 2021 to 26 January 2022. She worked an average of 60 hours per week over 6 days, was paid £12 per hour, and was never given a written contract of employment.

The tribunal found that by the end of the employment she was entitled to 180.3 hours of paid leave, calculated as £2,163.60. The claimant accepted that her payslips for November and December 2021 showed holiday pay of £446.40 and £528.00 respectively, and that a further £459.47 was paid in March 2022. That meant she had received £1,433.87 in total holiday pay.

The remaining balance due was therefore £729.73, and the claim for unpaid holiday pay succeeded in that amount. The respondent did not attend the hearing, but the notice of appearance suggested he believed he could deduct sums said to be owed to him for matters such as food wastage and cleaning costs. The tribunal noted that, because there was no written contract of employment, there was plainly no contractual provision entitling him to make such deductions, and it referred to section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.