E.T. Z (WR) EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS (SCOTLAND) Case no: 4102782/20195 Held at Dundee on May 2019 Employment Judge: W A Meiklejohn Mr Thomas Kadoch v ’s mother Trademark Construction — 2019

The claimant, a joiner who started work on 13 June 2016, was paid £360 net per week and was dismissed by text on 6 November 2018 after saying he could not attend work because of severe depression/anxiety. The respondent replied that he was finished and then that he was sacked not paid off. The tribunal found that he had completed two years' continuous employment, so under s.86(1) ERA 1996 he was entitled to two weeks' statutory notice pay, which was awarded at £720.

The tribunal accepted the claimant's evidence that the respondent had not returned his tools after dismissal. It treated return of the tools as an implied contractual term on termination and awarded their replacement cost of £436. It also found an unlawful deduction of wages for the unpaid 5 November 2018 shift and awarded £90 after applying the 25% uplift. Holiday pay was also awarded because, applying the Working Time Regulations 1998, the claimant had accrued 11.5 days in the holiday year beginning 13 June 2018, had taken 7 days, and was entitled to payment for 4.5 untaken days, valued at £324.

On unfair dismissal, the respondent had not entered a response and did not attend the hearing, so it failed to discharge the burden under s.98(1) ERA 1996 of showing the reason for dismissal. The tribunal awarded a basic award of £864.78 and compensation of £1,784.78, then increased the compensation by 25% under s.207A TULRCA 1992 because the ACAS Code of Practice: Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures (2015) had not been followed, producing a final unfair dismissal award of £2,230.98. The claim for a written statement of reasons for dismissal was dismissed because the letter of 23 November 2018 did not actually request a written statement under s.92(2) ERA 1996. Separately, because the respondent had failed to give initial employment particulars, the tribunal made a section 38 Employment Act 2002 award of £1,729.56, being four weeks' pay. The tribunal noted that pension contribution issues were not a matter for it.