Mr J Spence v Westdyke Joinery Ltd: 4107112/2019
JUDGMENT
[1]the respondent shall pay to the claimant the sum of One Thousand, Five Hundred and Twenty-Four Pounds (£1,524), as a redundancy payment;[2]the claim under s.23 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 is well-founded and the respondent shall pay to the claimant the sum of Six Hundred and Seven Pounds (£607), subject to the appropriate deductions in respect of Income Tax and National Insurance, as unlawful deductions from wages;[3]the respondent shall pay to the claimant the sum of One Thousand and Sixteen Pounds (£1,016), in respect of the respondent’s failure to provide the claimant with a written statement of his terms and conditions of employment. E.T. Z4 (WR)REASONS
[1]The claimant, James Spence, brought various claims following the termination of his employment by the respondent Company. Helpfully, the respondent’s Director, Mr M Paton, submitted a Response Form in which he intimated that the claims were not disputed. He said this by way of explanation for the non-payment:- “Westdyke Joinery Ltd ceased trading on 21 March 2019. The company was insolvent and cannot pay its debts as they fall due. It does not have assets, that if sold would pay off the debt due to the claimant. The company cannot afford to pay for liquidation and therefore as a company director I made an application on 1 May 2019 to Companies House to strike off the Company and remove the Company name from their Register. All creditors were advised of the application.”[2]This was confirmed by Mr M Paton at a preliminary hearing to consider case management on 9 August 2019.[3]I now deal with each of the complaints comprising this claim. Redundancy payment[4]The respondent Company has ceased trading. I was satisfied that when the claimant was dismissed there was a redundancy situation. Accordingly, the claimant is entitled to a redundancy payment.[5]At the time of his dismissal, he was 41 years of age and had been employed by the respondent for 3 complete years. He earned, on average, £607 gross per week. However, at the time a “week‘s pay” was limited to £508.[6]He is entitled, therefore, to a redundancy payment of £1,524 (3 x £508). Unpaid wages[7]When the claimant was dismissed he received pay in lieu of notice. However, he did not receive the one week’s wages which had been retained by way of a so-called “lie week”.[8]He is entitled, therefore, to a payment of £607, subject to the appropriate deductions in respect of Income and Tax and National Insurance, in respect of unpaid wages. Written particulars of employment[9]The claimant did not receive a written statement of his terms and conditions of employment. As he has been able to bring other successful claims, he is entitled to an award of 2 weeks’ pay which amounts to £1,016 (2 x £508).