Shane Johnson v Ventrolla Limited Heard: by CVP in the North East Region — 2024

The claimant, a Technical Surveyor employed by Ventrolla Limited from 30 August 2022 to 31 January 2024, brought claims for notice pay, holiday pay and arrears of pay following his summary dismissal. The Tribunal found that during his employment he had carried out competing work for the respondent's customers (including taking almost £5,500 from customer CK) without informing or seeking permission from the respondent, and that the work done for CK was of unsatisfactory standard and left her home in an unsafe condition. The Tribunal held that this conduct amounted to a fundamental breach of the implied duties of fidelity and of trust and confidence, constituting gross misconduct entitling the respondent to dismiss without notice. The notice pay claim therefore failed.

The Tribunal nonetheless upheld the claims for holiday pay and unauthorised deduction from wages. Applying Regulation 14 of the Working Time Regulations 1998, the claimant was entitled to 11.24 days' accrued but untaken holiday at the daily rate of £142.38, giving £1,600.35. The respondent also admitted not paying the claimant for the 14 days worked between 16 and 31 January 2024, amounting to £1,873.72.

On the contractual offset point, the Tribunal accepted that the respondent had suffered loss as a result of the claimant's negligent behaviour and unsatisfactory standards of work for CK within the meaning of clause 11.1(b) of the contract, but held that the deduction right under clause 11.2 only arose after the respondent had first asked the claimant to repay its losses, which it had not done. The right to holiday pay and wages also arose as a matter of statute, and the repudiatory breach did not relieve the respondent of those obligations. Applying section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, the deductions were unauthorised.