In person For the v Mr Ian Blackmore — 2020

The claimant, engaged from 23 May 2013 on documents describing him as self-employed, said he worked only for the respondent, could not send a substitute, and was subject to the respondent’s control over hours, tasks, place of work and work schedule. The respondent did not press a challenge to employee status at the hearing. The tribunal found, on an overall assessment of the relationship, that the claimant provided personal service, that there was mutuality of obligation, that he took little financial risk, and that the economic reality was that he was an employee.

The tribunal found that the claimant was dismissed by reason of redundancy on 1 August 2019, with his last working day on 29 August 2019. It held that he was entitled to a redundancy payment. Using his date of birth of 15 May 1972 and 6 full years of employment, the tribunal calculated the payment at 9 weeks x £525, producing £4,725.

On holiday pay, the tribunal found there was no express holiday year and that the holiday year ran from 23 June to 22 June. It accepted the claimant’s evidence that he worked 4 days a week at £180 per day, giving an annual entitlement of 24 days including bank holidays. From 22 June 2019 to 29 August 2019, 4.5 days had accrued but not been paid, amounting to £810.

The tribunal also accepted that the claimant had taken 2 weeks’ holiday in the 2018-2019 holiday year and was still entitled to the 8 bank holidays, so 16 days’ holiday pay remained unpaid for that year. It treated that element as an unauthorised deduction of wages claim, found it was presented in time, and awarded £2,880. It rejected any further holiday pay award for earlier years because those payments were outside the three-month period and did not form a series of deductions.