Ms S Mason v No appearance Heart of Glencoe Ltd — 2025

Ms S Mason lodged claims of unfair dismissal and breach of contract against Heart of Glencoe Ltd. The unfair dismissal claim was withdrawn by the claimant because she said she did not have sufficient qualifying service, and the Tribunal's judgment records it as dismissed on that withdrawal.

The Tribunal then required the claimant to provide her contract and identify the alleged contractual breaches. She alleged, in summary, an unreasonable workload, expenses not being paid timeously, excessive hours in May 2024, unsuitable accommodation, no employee handbook, short-notice amendments to holiday pay scales, and health and safety matters not being taken seriously. The claimant did not attend the strike-out hearing and no postponement application was made, so the hearing proceeded in her absence.

The Tribunal held that its jurisdiction over breach of contract claims is governed by section 3 of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 and the Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction (Scotland) Order SI 1994/1624, and noted that some matters are excluded from jurisdiction, including damages for personal injury and obligations connected with the provision of living accommodation. It found that the claimant had not set out any direct losses arising from the alleged breaches, did not suggest she had not been paid for hours worked or expenses claimed, and identified no recoverable loss in relation to the handbook or other allegations.

The Tribunal concluded that, while the matters complained of might have been relied on in an unfair dismissal claim, they did not amount to free-standing breaches of contract with any prospect of success. The breach of contract claim was therefore struck out under rule 38(1)(a).