ETZ 4(WR) IN THE EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL (SCOTLAND) AT EDINBURGH Judgment of the Employment Tribunal in Case No: 4110449/2021 Heard at Edinburgh on the Cloud Based Video Platform on th of February 2022 Employment Judge J G d’Inverno Ms P Gray v Royal Mail Group Limited — 2022

The tribunal determined a complaint that the respondent had made unauthorised deductions from wages by withholding contractual sick pay between 14 April 2021 and 2 December 2021 and paying only statutory sick pay. The claimant had been absent from 29 March 2021 and had received contractual sick pay for the first two weeks. The respondent then stopped contractual sick pay after letters from the claimant's line manager concerning contact during absence and attendance at meetings.

The tribunal found that the 12 April 2021 letter did not give the two days' written notice required by the respondent's own policies before sick pay could be stopped. It also found that the initial decision was not a reasonable exercise of discretion, including because the respondent knew the claimant said she could not have contact with that manager, did not appoint another manager as a point of contact, and relied in part on her continuing separate cleaning work even though that arrangement had been agreed.

The later appeal decision of 22 September 2021 was treated as a fresh decision to stop contractual sick pay. The tribunal found that decision was taken after sufficient notice and was a reasonable exercise of discretion because the appeal manager accepted the claimant's illness was genuine but was not satisfied her absence remained necessary after she declined a proposed transfer to another delivery office where the manager would not be present. The claimant was therefore entitled to contractual sick pay only up to 22 September 2021, producing an unauthorised deduction of £3,893.21 gross, and the claim failed for the period from 23 September to 2 December 2021.