Ms I Olczak New Whites (Leith) Ltd v New Whites (Leith) Ltd — 2023

The claimant lodged her claim on 31 March 2023 complaining of unlawful deduction from wages in respect of Statutory Sick Pay and holiday pay. A final hearing was held on 15 August 2023 before Employment Judge A Jones. The claimant did not attend, and the tribunal recorded unsuccessful attempts by the clerk to contact her by email and telephone before the hearing. An interpreter was available for her, but she did not appear at the allocated time.

Mr Singh appeared for the respondent. The respondent's position was that no sums were due, although there had been some confusion about whether holiday pay was payable. The respondent also said the claimant had not been dismissed by them. The claimant had not applied to postpone the hearing and had not given any indication that she would be unavailable.

The tribunal noted that it had limited jurisdiction in determining whether a failure to pay Statutory Sick Pay amounts to an unlawful deduction from wages. In any event, because the claimant was absent and there was no evidence from her about any deductions said to have been made, the tribunal was satisfied that the claim should be dismissed. The judgment therefore records that the claimant's claims were dismissed.