Claimant v Harleys Franchise Ltd

The tribunal found the dismissal was for redundancy (a fair reason), but the respondent acted unreasonably under s.98(4) by failing to provide any forewarning, consultation, or proper process. The claimant was dismissed by WhatsApp while on holiday with no notice or right of appeal, despite Mr Harley knowing for months that the business was failing.

The claimant was entitled to two weeks' notice under s.86 ERA 1996 and his contract. He received no notice and no payment in lieu. This was a clear breach of contract.

Employee pension contributions were deducted from the claimant's pay but never paid into any pension scheme. This was a material breach of an implied term of the contract arising from the Pensions Act 2008 and 2010 auto-enrolment regulations.

The respondent failed to make employer pension contributions as required by statute and as implied into the contract, despite representing on payslips that it was doing so. Mr Harley admitted no pension scheme had been set up.

The respondent failed to provide a compliant written statement of employment particulars on commencement or at any time. A deficient statement was provided only in February 2025, almost three years late and after the claimant had requested it multiple times. This breached s.1 ERA 1996.

The claimant did not receive itemised payslips for several months between May 2022 and August 2024, in breach of s.8 ERA 1996. The respondent could not dispute this and admitted outsourcing payslip provision to a third party without proper oversight.