MS K TOMLINSON v The Singhing Tree Limited — 2022

The claimant was employed as the registered manager of the respondent's residential unit from 6 January 2020 until 29 May 2020. The tribunal found that her contract stated a salary of £28,000 per year and that there was no agreement to reduce that salary to £26,500. It also found that she was entitled to be paid from the start of employment, including the period of induction and early attendance before the first resident arrived.

The claimant's age discrimination and age harassment claims were dismissed. The tribunal accepted that she had made broad allegations about the way she was managed, including the level of direction she received and comments about lunch breaks, but it found no evidence that the treatment complained of was linked to age. The claimant was 29 years old at the relevant time, and the tribunal held that she had not established a prima facie case so the burden of proof did not shift to the respondent. The probation point also fell away because the tribunal found the respondent had not extended the probationary period.

The pregnancy discrimination claim was also dismissed. The tribunal found no contractual right to work from home and accepted the respondent's case that the role of registered manager in a small residential unit required physical presence. It found that the claimant had not provided documentary evidence during employment that she had been told to shield, and it did not accept that the GP letter dated 14 April 2020 had been sent to the respondent during the employment relationship. The tribunal found no pregnancy-related remark that it accepted as discriminatory and concluded that the respondent genuinely believed the claimant was absent without leave from 9 April 2020 and dismissed her for conduct relating to absence, not because of pregnancy.

On remedy, the tribunal found that the claimant was entitled to normal pay until 19 March 2020, statutory sick pay from 20 March to 9 April 2020, and no pay after 9 April 2020. After the liability decision, the parties agreed the wage calculations for the unpaid and underpaid periods, and the tribunal awarded £3,397.30 in total. The unfair dismissal claim had previously been withdrawn and dismissed on 23 March 2021.