No attendance For the v Mr T Rubython, Director — 2021

The claimant brought a claim after resigning on 29 January 2021, seeking unauthorised deductions of wages, holiday pay and notice pay. She did not attend the final hearing and provided no witness statement or submissions. The respondent attended through Mr T Rubython and gave evidence about the sums in dispute.

The tribunal accepted Mr Rubython's evidence that the respondent's response had appeared to admit £1,184.37 gross, but that most of that figure, £961.53, related to the week of 29 January 2021 to 5 February 2021, when the claimant would otherwise have been working her notice. He said that sum was to be paid only if the claimant signed a Cessation of Employment document in return for being excused from working notice, and that she refused to sign it. The tribunal accepted that account.

The tribunal held that the Cessation of Employment document would have been ineffective in relation to statutory rights because it did not satisfy s144 of the Equality Act 2010 or s203 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. However, that did not prevent any agreement about the circumstances in which notice pay would be paid. The tribunal also noted, relying on Delaney v Staples (t/a De Montfort Recruitment) 1991 ICR 331 CA, that notice pay would not amount to wages for Part II of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and would instead fall to be considered as a contractual claim.

On that basis, the tribunal concluded that only the balance of the respondent's admitted figure was actually due, namely £222.84, which it identified as outstanding holiday pay. Judgment was therefore entered for that gross sum, and no separate award was made for the notice pay element.