In person For the v The Harlestone Group Ltd — 2023

The claimant was employed by The Harlestone Group Limited as a delivery driver from 1 April 2014 until 30 April 2021 under a zero-hours contract. The tribunal found that the correct respondent was The Harlestone Group Limited, relying on payslips in that name and the fact that the respondent gave the claimant work instructions and paid him.

On 30 April 2021, the claimant was told by an HR consultant that no further work would be offered and that he may have been dismissed for gross misconduct, but that the decision was instead to offer no further work under the zero-hours contract. The tribunal found that this constituted a dismissal and that the respondent had not established conduct justifying summary termination.

The respondent argued that the claim was out of time. The tribunal applied the statutory notice provisions and found that, because the claimant had seven complete years of service and was entitled to seven weeks' notice, the effective date of termination was 18 June 2021. The claim received on 5 August 2021 was therefore brought in time.