Mr Robert Oratynski v Interpreter - Ms Karwacka Sebastian Sosenko t/a Pine Tree Bakery — 2019

The claimant, Mr Robert Oratynski, worked for Sebastian Sosenko t/a Pine Tree Bakery from April 2016 on an agreed verbal arrangement for 25 hours per week at £195.75 gross per week. The tribunal found that on 24 January 2019 the claimant and other employees were told not to attend work for a while, but there had been no agreement permitting lay-off or allowing the respondent to stop providing work. The respondent later told another employee that the business was closed and all employees were dismissed, and the tribunal treated the dismissal as having occurred on 14 February 2019.

On redundancy pay, the tribunal held that the claimant was dismissed by reason of redundancy within section 139(1)(a)(i) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 because the business had ceased trading. With two years' service and age 41 at dismissal, he was entitled to two weeks' redundancy pay, calculated at his gross weekly pay of £195.75, giving an award of £391.50. The tribunal also found a breach of contract in dismissing him without notice and awarded two weeks' wages, again £391.50, made gross and taxable.

The tribunal further found two additional breaches of contract. First, the claimant had a contractual entitlement to 140 hours' paid holiday each year, but in 2017 he was paid for only 75 hours and in 2018 he was not paid for any holiday taken; damages for this breach were assessed at £1,597.32. Second, there was no contractual term entitling the respondent to lay the claimant off or fail to provide work between 24 January 2019 and 14 February 2019, so the respondent was in breach for that three-week period and damages of £587.25 were awarded, representing three weeks' wages.