Mr D Sobo v The Adventure Learning Charity — 2021

Mr Sobo was employed as Chief Operating Officer from 23 May 2019 on a contract that provided for three months' written notice, a £50,000 salary and a £3,000 car allowance. The tribunal examined the respondent's emails of 27 April, 12 May, 25 June and 26 June 2020 and found that they were not sufficiently clear to tell a reasonable employee that his contract was being terminated. It held that the first clear and unambiguous notification of termination was the finance officer's letter of 12 August 2020, so the effective date of termination was 12 August 2020.

On that basis, the breach of contract claim for notice pay succeeded because the contractual notice period had not been given. The tribunal rejected the respondent's position that notice had run from 27 April, and it recorded that payment through 31 July 2020 did not cure the absence of proper notice. The judgment also found that the correspondence created uncertainty as to whether the role was ending or being changed, which meant it did not operate as effective contractual notice.

The unlawful deduction from wages claim for holiday pay also succeeded. On reconsideration under Rule 73, the tribunal concluded it had erred in law in calculating a new notice period and instead confined the award to compensation for the breach. The final award was £13,250 gross for three months' notice and £203.84 gross for holiday accrued between 31 July and 12 August 2020, replacing the earlier holiday figure of £1,208.06 gross.