In Person For the v Ms Magda Bartkoska — 2021

Ms A Duher worked for Magda Fun House Limited as a child carer from 1 May 2019 until her effective date of termination on 31 May 2020. The tribunal accepted that the parties had no clear written contract, that the respondent said the arrangement was for 25 hours per week at £12 per hour, and that the claimant was paid monthly amounts which did not identify any holiday pay. On the evidence, the judge concluded that the claimant was being paid on an annualised basis for 38 weeks' term-time work spread over 52 weeks, but not for holiday pay.

Applying the Working Time Regulations and the reasoning in Harpur Trust v Brazel, the tribunal found that the claimant had not been paid any holiday pay during her employment. It held that she took leave in line with school term dates, that the last leave before the pandemic was at the end of February 2020, and that she suffered a series of unlawful deductions in relation to holiday pay. The tribunal therefore awarded 5.6 weeks' holiday pay, quantified at £1,680.

The notice pay claim failed. The tribunal accepted that the 8 May 2020 text saying the respondent would suspend co-operation due to the pandemic and would not need the claimant until further notice amounted to notice of termination. Because the claimant was paid until the end of May 2020, the tribunal held that the respondent had met the obligation to pay one week's notice under section 86 ERA 1996.

The tribunal also dealt with the respondent's failure to provide written terms of employment. It found there had been no written contract and no clarity about the hourly rate or holiday arrangements, and it made the minimum award of two weeks' pay under section 38 of the Employment Act 2002, which it quantified at £600. The total award was £2,280.