Mr Y Bubulchuk v Mr K Khan — 2021

The tribunal accepted the claimant's evidence as credible and reliable. It found that Mr K Khan had confirmed by text on 3 October 2019 that Sanderling Enterprise Limited was the claimant's employer, and that the payslips, P45 and HMRC furlough records also pointed to the second respondent. The claim against Mr Khan was therefore dismissed because the second respondent was found to be the employer.

On time bar and jurisdiction, the tribunal held that the employment ended on 21 May 2020, when the claimant received the P45 and it became clear that the employment had ended. The retrospective termination date of 10 April 2020 on the P45 was not effective in law. Alternatively, even if 10 April 2020 had been the relevant date, the tribunal was satisfied that it had not been reasonably practicable to present the claim sooner, given the respondents' lack of clarity, the claimant's limited English, and his attempt to resolve matters himself before seeking advice. Early conciliation and the claim form were therefore in time.

The tribunal awarded one week's notice pay of £205.25, accrued holiday pay of £766.30 for 11.2 days, unpaid furlough payments totalling £523.20 for the weeks commencing 17 April, 24 April and 1 May 2020, and £821 for failure to provide written particulars. It made no award for the period 8 to 21 May 2020 because the position for that period was unclear. The total financial award was £2,315.75, and the tribunal reserved for 14 days the question whether to impose a financial penalty under section 12A of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996, inviting written representations from the second respondent.