A Kemp Tribunal Member: E Coyle Tribunal Member: P Fallow Ms V Stewart v Allied Healthcare Group Ltd — 2022

Ms Victoria Stewart worked for Allied Healthcare Ltd as a care worker from 18 September 2018 and began maternity leave on 21 February 2020. The tribunal accepted her evidence that she intended to take the full period of ordinary and additional maternity leave, and found the form completed by the branch manager was ambiguous and contradictory. It also found that the respondent did not write to her to notify the date on which her maternity leave would end, contrary to regulation 7 of the Maternity and Parental Leave etc Regulations 1999.

The tribunal found a pattern of failed communication when the claimant tried to arrange her return to work in January and March 2021. It accepted that she emailed on 29 March 2021 saying she intended to return but needed to discuss part-time hours, and it rejected the respondent's case about an unreceived April email. Sending a P45 on or about 7 May 2021, received by the claimant on 9 May 2021, was treated as a dismissal. The tribunal held that the respondent had not proved a potentially fair reason for dismissal or any some other substantial reason, and that the dismissal was unfair under section 98 and automatically unfair under section 99 because of the maternity-leave protections.

The section 92 claim for written reasons failed because the tribunal did not find a sufficiently clear request for reasons. On remedy, it awarded a basic award of £668.88 based on three weeks' pay at £222.96, and a compensatory award of £4,914.00 for losses continuing until 6 December 2021, when the claimant started new part-time work. It also awarded £1,000 under the head of injury to feelings, inclusive of interest, at the low end of the lower Vento band, producing a total award of £6,582.88. The tribunal noted that the award was subject to the recoupment regime, with a prescribed element of £4,914.00.