Mr B Logue v (In Person) DSG International — 2021

Mr B Logue was employed by DSG International as a delivery driver and was dismissed with effect from 4 May 2020. He had 13 complete years' service and was 59 years old. The respondent did not appear or defend the claim. The tribunal identified the claim as one of unfair dismissal and found the dismissal unfair because the respondent failed to advance any potentially fair reason for dismissal in accordance with section 98(4) of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

On remedy, the tribunal considered the claimant's pay and termination payments. It found that his gross weekly pay was £546.65, capped for basic award purposes at £538, and that his service above age 41 entitled him to 19.5 weeks' pay. Although he had received a payment described as a redundancy payment, the tribunal held that the redundancy exclusion in section 122(4) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 did not apply because the respondent had not established that the dismissal was by reason of redundancy. The claimant was therefore awarded a basic award of £10,491.

The tribunal made no compensatory award. It recorded that the claimant received 12 weeks' notice pay of £6,559.91 and a redundancy payment of £18,180.44 gross. He started alternative employment on 26 October 2020, and the tribunal found that the termination payments exceeded the loss of earnings sustained up to the hearing date. It also found that there would be no loss for a considerable further period, without needing to take mitigation into account, so no future loss award was appropriate.