ETZ 4(WR) EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS (SCOTLAND) Case No: 4106953/2020 Hearing Held at Edinburgh on and June 2021 Employment Judge: M A Macleod Mr Colin Hutton v Timberbush Tours Limited — 2021

Mr Hutton was employed by Timberbush Tours Limited as a Digital Marketing Executive from 7 February 2019. After the impact of Covid-19 on the business, he was placed on furlough, then flexible furlough, and later taken through a redundancy consultation process. He advanced an automatic unfair dismissal complaint under s.100(1)(e) ERA 1996 and also complained about wage deductions in relation to furlough pay and annual leave.

The tribunal dismissed the automatic unfair dismissal claim. It held that Mr Hutton had not shown circumstances of serious and imminent danger when he said he did not want to return to the office by bus, and it found that the respondent was not requiring him to face that particular danger. The tribunal also found that the respondent had a genuine redundancy reason arising from a very significant fall in business, and that the speed of the redundancy process did not demonstrate that dismissal was for the protected reason alleged.

The claim for additional furlough pay also failed. The tribunal found no contractual or legal basis for a right to 100% pay throughout furlough, except for hours actually worked during flexible furlough, and it said the claimant's position on that point was contradictory.

The claim in respect of annual leave succeeded in part. The tribunal found the June leave complaint unclear, accepted that the claimant worked during four days in July when he should have been on leave, and rejected the respondent's proposed offset of an alleged notice overpayment against holiday pay. It awarded £415.47, representing 5.5 days of annual leave at £75.54 net per day.