Ms S Malone v Represented by: Mr J Lawson Solicitor Ohsogorgeous Hairdressing Ltd and 1 other — 2022

Ms S Malone was employed by Ohsogorgeous Hairdressing Ltd until her dismissal on 2 July 2021. She brought claims for unfair dismissal, unlawful deduction from wages, and failure to receive a written statement of terms and conditions. Neither respondent presented a response or took part in the hearing, and the tribunal did not take into account documents lodged late without any application for late acceptance.

The tribunal accepted that the first respondent was the correct employer. It found that the claimant had been subjected to an unauthorised deduction from wages of £356.10 net, had been wrongfully dismissed, and was entitled to £924 net for three weeks' unpaid notice pay. It also made an award of £700, equivalent to two weeks' wages, under section 38 of the Employment Act 2002 for failure to provide the written statement required by section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

On unfair dismissal, the tribunal awarded a basic award of £1,050 and a compensatory award of £5,949, which included £500 for loss of statutory rights. Because the first respondent had not followed the ACAS Code of Practice when dismissing the claimant, a 10% uplift was applied, producing a final compensatory award of £6,544. The tribunal said it had taken account of the limited evidence and the small size of the business, and noted that the claimant had been in receipt of Universal Credit so the recoupment regulations applied; the prescribed amount was £6,044.