Mr Jonny Bates v James Davies (Scotland) Ltd — 2019

Mr Bates worked for James Davies (Scotland) Ltd as a driver from 3 December 2018 to 11 February 2019, paid at £10 per hour for the first 40 hours each week and £13 per hour thereafter. The Tribunal found that he was not given a compliant written statement of particulars during his employment. It accepted the claimant's text-message chronology, including that he said he was resigning but was willing to work the rest of the week as notice.

On that evidence, the Tribunal preferred the claimant's account over the respondent's and found that the respondent's reply, including the instruction to 'return your PPE and just finish', brought the employment to an end immediately. It therefore treated the claimant as having been dismissed with immediate effect and awarded the balance of notice pay at £320 gross. It also awarded accrued holiday pay for 1.5 days; the operative judgment states £140 gross, although paragraph 24 of the reasons refers to £120 gross for the same entitlement.

The overtime claim failed because the claimant had not followed the respondent's procedure for recording and claiming overtime hours and had not established that he was entitled to the additional payment claimed. The Tribunal then applied section 38 of the Employment Act 2002 because the employer had not provided a compliant section 1 ERA 1996 statement within the required period. It increased the award by the minimum two weeks' pay, £800 gross, taking into account the respondent's size, the absence of a deliberate omission, the short length of employment, and the fact that the claimant had not asked for and been refused a statement.