Miss Megan Doherty v Indemnis Limited — 2023

The tribunal first decided to hear the breach of contract and unlawful deduction from wages claims despite late presentation. It found that the delay resulted from an ACAS administrative error which omitted the claimant’s name from the first Early Conciliation certificate. The tribunal held that it was not reasonably practicable for the claimant to present those claims in time and that the accepted ET1 was lodged within a further reasonable period.

On the merits, the tribunal found that the respondent had ceased trading and that the claimant was dismissed by reason of redundancy. It therefore awarded statutory redundancy pay based on three full years of service and the claimant’s gross weekly pay. The tribunal also found that the claimant was dismissed without notice and awarded damages for breach of contract based on three weeks’ notice at the rate of Statutory Maternity Pay the claimant would have received during that period.

The tribunal further found that the respondent breached contract by deducting £60 from the claimant’s wages for pension contributions but failing to pay that sum into the pension fund. It also found unlawful deductions from wages in respect of unpaid holiday pay for 17 untaken days and unpaid Statutory Maternity Pay. In calculating the SMP award, the tribunal deducted the amount already awarded for notice pay to avoid double-counting the overlap with the notice period.