Member F Paton Tribunal Member A Atkinson Mr John Coleman v Ltd (In Liquidation) — 2024

The Tribunal recorded that the claimant had initially indicated he wanted reinstatement or re-engagement, but later confirmed through his agents that he no longer sought that remedy and wished to receive compensation for unfair dismissal.

The Tribunal made no deduction from compensation for failure to raise a grievance, finding there would have been no point because the claimant had previously raised concerns about the respondent's working practices and these had not been acted upon. It also accepted that the claimant had taken reasonable steps to mitigate his losses, noting limited employment opportunities on Orkney and the absence of evidence from the respondent about roles he could have applied for.

The Tribunal accepted the claimant's evidence that he was only able to work four days a week because of the physical and mental toll of manual work, and did not reduce compensation on that basis. It awarded a basic award calculated by age and length of service, compensation for net loss of earnings to the hearing, future loss based on a weekly earnings difference over two years, and loss of statutory rights, with grossing up applied because the compensation exceeded the tax-free amount.