Ms N Mcallan v Great Worqs Ltd (In Voluntary Liquidation): 3200428/2024
JUDGMENT
[1]The Claimant’s claims succeed for:1.1 Unfair dismissal for which the Respondent must pay the Claimant:1.1.1 the basic award (which is calculated in the same way as a redundancy payment) of £1,286.1.1.2 The compensatory award comprising the following elements:1.1.2.1 unpaid wages for the period to 7 March 2024 of £3,504.36 net1.1.2.2 unpaid bonus entitlement of £787.50 net1.1.2.3 Loss of statutory rights in the sum of £500.1.2 Wrongful dismissal / breach of contract / failure to pay notice pay for which the Respondent must pay the Claimant £2,530.92 net.1.3 Unpaid wages for the period 1 January 2024 to 25 January 2024 for which the Respondent must pay the Claimant £1,768.60 net.1.4 1.03 days of accrued holiday pay at the date of dismissal for which the Respondent must pay the Claimant £120.10 net.1.5 Unlawful deduction from wages in relation to employee pension payments for which the Respondent must pay the Claimant £1,234.06.[2]The total sum which the Respondent must pay to the Claimant is £11,731.54.[3]The Claimant did not claim benefits during the relevant period.REASONS
[1]Following a period of Acas early conciliation between 1 February 2024 and 21 February 2024, the Claimant’s claim form was presented on 21 February 2024. Her claim as articulated in her ET1 claim form is for:1.1 Unfair dismissal1.2 Redundancy pay1.3 Notice pay (breach of contract / wrongful dismissal)1.4 Unpaid accrued holiday entitlement1.5 Unpaid wages 1 January 2024 to 25 January 20241.6 Unpaid bonus of £1,1251.7 Unlawful deduction from wages relating to employee pension contributions deducted from her pay but not paid to the pension scheme initially said to total £909.06 (subsequently revised in her witness statement to £1,234.06.[2]In subsequent documentation, the Claimant has requested compensation for injury to feelings (and aggravated damages – which is a type of injury to feelings), given the manner of her dismissal and its effect on her. Unfortunately for the Claimant, injury to feelings is not a head of compensation for any of the remedies sought in her ET1 claim form notwithstanding the brutal manner in which her employment was brought to an end by her employer.[3]The Respondent, a Limited Company with a sole Director, Temitope Balogun, is in voluntary liquidation. Liquidators were appointed on 7 March 2024. The liquidators have written to the tribunal to inform it that they will not be participating in the litigation.[4]The Claimant attended today. There was no attendance by the Respondent.[5]The Claimant had prepared a paginated bundle running to page 94 including her contract of employment, payslips, and communications between her and the Respondent. It was expertly prepared and contained all of the information which I needed to determine her claims.[6]The Claimant had prepared a witness statement; and she gave oral evidence at the hearing. It was her evidence that after her dismissal on 25 January, the company continued to operate and that other people were still doing the sort of work that she had been doing. It was her evidence that as far as she knew the company stopped operating after the insolvency on 7 March 2024. It was her evidence that in the period up to 7 March 2024, she was unable to obtain other employment. She has launched her own business, but there were no earnings up to that date.[7]The Claimant also presented a witness statement from Lucy Farha – a coworker dismissed on the same date. It was signed and dated 4 July 2025. Ms Farha did not attend the tribunal but I was able to give some weight to the content of her statement in that it was consistent with the Claimant’s account of her dismissal. Findings and Conclusions[8]The Claimant, dob 5 January 1999, was employed by the Respondent between 10 January 2022 and 25 January 2024, when she was summarily dismissed. Therefore, she had the necessary 2 year qualifying period to bring a claim for unfair dismissal.[9]At the time of dismissal, the Claimant was being paid £38,000 gross per annum which results in a net weekly pay figure of £584.06; and a net monthly figure of £2,530.92.[10]I am satisfied the Claimant was contractually entitled to 1 month of notice. She was given no notice. She is entitled to £2,530.92 net.[11]I am satisfied on hearing the Claimant’s evidence and looking at the relevant payslips that the Claimant was not paid for the period 1 January 2024 to 25 January 2024. She is entitled to £1,768.60 net.[12]I am satisfied on hearing the Claimant’s evidence and looking at the relevant payslips that the Claimant had 1.03 days of accrued holiday pay at the date of dismissal. She is entitled to £120.10 net for that.[13]I am satisfied on hearing the Claimant’s evidence and looking at the relevant payslips, that employee pension payments were deducted from the Claimant’s pay by the Respondent for the period from April 2023 but that a total of £1,234.06 was not subsequently paid to the pension scheme by the Respondent. This amounts to an unlawful deduction from wages.[14]I am satisfied that had she not been dismissed, the Claimant would have earned net from the Respondent up to 7 March 2024 the sum of 6 weeks net pay totalling £3,504.36 net. In addition, I am satisfied on hearing the Claimant’s evidence and noting the message to her from the Respondent dated 17 January 2024 that prior to her dismissal the Respondent had notified her of a bonus entitlement in the sum of £1,125 gross (£787.50 net) – which would have been paid in the pay for January 2024, which, had she not been dismissed, would have been paid at the beginning of February 2024 - but was never paid.[15]The Claimant has received a net total of £4,123.30 from the Redundancy Payments Service, based on a weekly rate of pay of £728.77, (capped at £643 for statutory redundancy pay) comprising:15.1 2 weeks for statutory redundancy pay (capped at £643 per week) £1,286.0015.2 Unpaid wages for 1 January 2024 to 25 January 2024 at £2,388.29 gross, £1,768.60 net15.3 Accrued holiday pay for 1.03 days at £150.13 gross and £120.10 net15.4 Statutory notice pay for 2 weeks at £1,370.80 gross and £948.60 net (taking into account £84.80 benefits that could have been claimed during this period) (note that this is not the contractual notice entitlement, which is 1 month notice).[16]I accepted her evidence that the Claimant did not claim benefits prior to 7 March 2024 when the company entered insolvency.[17]Given that the Respondent entered insolvency on 7 March 2024 and that other people were dismissed at the same time as the Claimant and that the Respondent informed them that they were being made redundant, I am satisfied that there was a genuine redundancy situation. I am however not satisfied that the dismissal of the Claimant was fair, given that no process was followed. She was certainly treated shabbily by Temitope Balogun. The Claimant is entitled to a basic award (which is the same amount as the redundancy payment - £1286); compensatory award up to 7 March 2024 when the company entered into insolvency. I determine that her employment would have come to an end in any event on 7 March 2024.[18]I conclude that the Claimant was unfairly dismissed. Her selection for redundancy was not within the band of reasonable responses and had a fair process been followed, she would still have been in employment at 7 March 2024. She would therefore have received her pay up to that date and the bonus entitlement.[19]She is entitled to compensation for unfair dismissal (including bonus pay) / redundancy payment (same as basic award) / notice pay / holiday pay / unlawful deduction from wages relating to the pension deductions. Useful information[20]All judgments and any written reasons for the judgments are published, in full, online at https://www.gov.uk/employment-tribunal-decisions shortly after a copy has been sent to the claimants and respondents.[21]There is information about Employment Tribunal procedures, including case management and preparation, compensation for injury to feelings, and pension loss, here: https://www.judiciary.uk/publications/employment-rules-and-legislation- practice-directions/[22]The Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure are here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employment-tribunal-procedure- rules[23]You can appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal if you think a legal mistake was made in an Employment Tribunal decision. There is more information here: https://www.gov.uk/appeal-employment-appeal-tribunal