Member L Millar Tribunal Member W Muir Ms K Hornal v Legends Bar – Yules Bar Ltd — 2024

Ms Hornal worked at Legends Bar from September 2023 until 19 May 2024. The tribunal found that she had not been given a contract, written statement of terms, or any information about annual leave. It accepted that she had raised concerns more than once about lewd comments and requests for a kiss from a customer, and that on or around 18 May 2024 that customer slapped her backside while she was working. After a meeting on 19 May 2024 with Mr Clark, Mr Yuill and Ms Washington, she was dismissed without notice and was not given a written reason.

The tribunal held that the dismissal was wrongful because there was no basis for summary dismissal, and it awarded one week’s notice pay of £220 gross. It also upheld the claim for failure to provide written particulars under section 1 Employment Rights Act 1996. Applying section 38(2)-(5) of the Employment Act 2002, it decided it was just and equitable to award the higher statutory amount of four weeks’ pay because no employment documentation had been provided at all, producing an award of £1,760 gross.

On holiday pay, the tribunal found that the claimant had not taken annual leave and calculated 73 hours outstanding by proceeding on an 18 September 2023 start date, producing an award of £803 gross. It accepted that the claimant had been sexually harassed by the customer on at least three occasions, but held that the Equality Act 2010 did not make the respondent liable for third-party harassment and that the respondent’s failure to address the conduct, or the dismissal itself, did not amount to harassment related to sex. That claim was dismissed, and the total award was £2,783 gross.