Miss May, Solicitor For the v Mr Brewer, Sole Trader — 2020

Mr Barber was found to have been an employee of Mr Brewer t/a Brewer and Jackson Homes from 2003 to June 2020. The tribunal relied on the regular weekly payments, personal service, Mr Brewer's control over the work, the absence of any substitution right, and the history of holiday pay and sickness-related payments.

The tribunal found that the employment ended by redundancy at the end of June 2020 because the requirement for the claimant's work had ceased or diminished. It accepted that Mr Brewer had no work available and applied a Polkey assessment, finding that even if a fair redundancy procedure had been followed there was a 100% chance the claimant would still have been dismissed. It also recorded a complete lack of procedure and a failure to follow the Acas Code.

The tribunal awarded £12,093.30 as a redundancy payment and a further £3,023.32 uplift, together with £5,374.80 for breach of contract in lieu of 12 weeks' notice, £797.62 for accrued holiday pay, £3,975.90 for unlawful deduction of wages, and £450 for loss of statutory rights. The total award was £25,714.94 and was not subject to recoupment.