Miss A Powis v Richard Language College — 2025

The Claimant, Miss A Powis, was employed by Richard Language College from 26 September 2009 as a Client Services Manager. Following Covid-19 the Respondent suffered financial difficulties, lost its premises after eviction, and on 27 June 2024 the Claimant was told by email that an application to strike off the company had been accepted by Companies House and that she was dismissed with immediate effect. The Respondent did not respond to the claim and did not attend the hearing, which the Tribunal decided to proceed with under rule 47 of the Procedure Rules 2024 after considering the overriding objective.

Employment Judge Yallop, sitting alone at Southampton by CVP on 25 April 2025, found that the Respondent had made unauthorised deductions from wages for March to June 2024, was in breach of contract in failing to pay notice and accrued holiday pay, and that the Claimant was entitled to a statutory redundancy payment. Applying the presumption in s163(2) ERA, the dismissal was found to be by reason of redundancy. The complaint of unfair dismissal under s94 ERA was upheld because no process was followed and the Respondent provided no evidence that the decision to dismiss was substantively fair.

No basic award for unfair dismissal was made because of the statutory redundancy payment (s122(4) ERA). A compensatory award under s123 ERA was calculated for loss of earnings and pension contributions during unemployment and ongoing loss after the Claimant started a new role on 3 February 2025, plus £500 for loss of statutory rights. The Claimant's application to amend her claim to include an unrepaid loan was refused as it raised facts wholly distinct from the dismissal, was out of time, and would not accord with the overriding objective.