Ms K Murray v Represented by: Ms G Duffy - Solicitor Target Healthcare Limited — 2026

The claimant presented a claim of unfair dismissal after being summarily dismissed with effect from 13 May 2025. The respondent had initially defended the claim but, at the commencement of the final hearing, conceded that the dismissal had been unfair. The tribunal therefore confined the hearing to remedy and refused the claimant's application to strike out the response, finding that a fair remedy hearing remained possible and that the respondent's conduct had not been unreasonable or vexatious.

For remedy, the tribunal found that the claimant's gross weekly pay, including commission, was £1,117.23 and her net weekly pay was £823.14. She obtained alternative employment with Core Pharmaceuticals Ltd from 2 June 2025 to 15 July 2025, earning £529.62 net per week, and then started employment with Ethigen on 25 August 2025. Applying the facts as they stood at the remedy hearing and having regard to Whelan v Richardson, the tribunal held that the Core employment did not end her losses and calculated loss up to 24 August 2025, when the parties agreed her losses ended.

The tribunal awarded a basic award of £5,033, calculated as seven weeks at the statutory capped weekly pay of £719. It calculated immediate loss of earnings at £11,524 for 14 weeks, deducted £3,178 earned at Core, and awarded £8,346 for net wage loss, £362 for lost employer pension contributions, £400 for loss of statutory employment rights, and £223 for fuel costs incurred attending an interview in Liverpool.

The tribunal rejected claims for the cost of a laptop and desk, finding that the laptop was bought before dismissal and did not flow from the dismissal, and that there was insufficient evidence about the desk. It also rejected claimed phone contribution loss, further pension loss beyond the immediate-loss period, and fuel or living expenses incurred while working for Core. The compensatory award, including the Liverpool interview fuel expense, was uplifted by 25% for breaches of the ACAS code of practice, which the respondent conceded, producing a compensatory award of £11,663 and total compensation of £16,696.