(sitting alone) Robert Flannigan v Michael O’Shea t/a — 2020

The tribunal found that the claimant had continuous employment from 28 August 1992, because the pub business changed hands over time but the fittings, equipment, stock, staff and customers were transferred and the business continued to trade. On that basis, there was a relevant transfer under TUPE and the claimant had 27 years of continuous service at the date of dismissal.

The respondent, who did not enter an appearance or lodge a response, dismissed the claimant by text on 24 July 2019 without reason, warning, prior procedure or notice. The tribunal found that the dismissal was unfair under section 94 and section 98 ERA 1996. It accepted that the claimant had taken reasonable steps to find alternative employment, was not claiming future loss, and had not been in receipt of benefits.

For remedy, the tribunal awarded a basic award of £6,050 and a compensatory award of £3,520, made up of loss of earnings for 16 weeks after deducting the 12-week notice period already compensated separately and £350 for loss of statutory rights. Because issues of conduct had been raised, the tribunal found that the ACAS Code applied and that the respondent had wholly and unreasonably failed to comply with it, so it increased the compensatory award by 25% to £4,837.50. Separately, it awarded £2,640.20 for notice pay and £880 under section 38 of the Employment Act 2002 for failure to provide a statement of employment particulars.