Mrs J Haddon v The Partnership of Cameron, Elaine & — 2022

The tribunal found that Mrs J Haddon worked for The Portnellan Company from November 2015 as a bookkeeper under arrangements that made her an employee. It relied on the facts that she worked fixed hours, was paid an agreed hourly rate, worked personally, used the respondent's premises, equipment and uniform, and was subject to Mr Taylor's control. Applying the Ready Mixed Concrete test, it held that there was a contract of employment; if that were wrong, it said she was at least a limb B worker, so the tribunal had jurisdiction over the holiday pay claim.

On holiday pay, the tribunal accepted that the claimant had accrued but untaken annual leave when her engagement ended. It took account of the effects of Covid-19 and found that leave could be carried forward into the 2020/21 leave year, leaving 13.17 days unpaid at termination. It awarded £1,369.68 under Regulation 14 of the Working Time Regulations 1998.

The tribunal also found that the respondent had failed to provide written particulars at the start of employment and had failed to issue a statement of change when the claimant's hours reduced in or about 2020. On that basis it made an award of four weeks' pay, £1,248, under section 30 of the Employment Act 2002.

The tribunal rejected the respondent's explanation that it dismissed the claimant because she could not use new software. It found that the real reason for the dismissal was that she had asserted her statutory right to holiday pay, making the dismissal automatically unfair under section 104 ERA 1996. It also held that the dismissal would in any event have been unfair under section 98(4) ERA 1996 because no procedure was followed, no discussion or investigation took place, and the claimant was simply told her services were no longer required. It awarded a basic award of £2,340 and a compensatory award of £480 after applying a 20% uplift for non-compliance with the Acas Code.

The wrongful dismissal claim succeeded because the claimant was entitled to five weeks' notice under section 86 ERA 1996 and received none, so the tribunal awarded £1,560 in lieu of notice. The judgment records the overall award as £6,997.685 and states that there was no prescribed element.