Claimant v Gardiner Colours Limited
Outcome
Individual claims
Withdrawn by claimant at hearing
Withdrawn by claimant at hearing
Tribunal found in favour of claimant for notice pay of £1,911.00 net in default judgment proceedings. Respondent failed to present response and did not attend hearing to defend the claim.
Tribunal found respondent made unlawful deductions from wages relating to SSP arrears totalling £233.50. Default judgment made as respondent failed to defend claim.
Tribunal found claimant entitled to payment in lieu of accrued but untaken holiday pay upon termination totalling £1,440.00 under Working Time Regulations 1998. Respondent failed to present defence.
Tribunal found dismissal was unfair in default judgment proceedings. Respondent failed to present response or attend hearing to justify fairness of dismissal. Basic and compensatory awards made.
Facts
Mr Boaler was dismissed from his employment with Gardiner Colours Limited on 12 July 2024. He brought claims for unfair dismissal, breach of contract (notice pay), unlawful deductions from wages (SSP arrears), holiday pay, redundancy payment and disability discrimination. The respondent failed to present a response to the claim. The claimant withdrew his redundancy and disability discrimination claims at the hearing on 18 March 2025. The respondent did not attend the hearing.
Decision
The tribunal made a default judgment under Rule 22 in favour of the claimant on all non-withdrawn claims. The respondent was found to have unreasonably failed to comply with the ACAS Code, resulting in a 25% uplift on all awards. The claimant was awarded notice pay, SSP arrears, holiday pay, and unfair dismissal compensation totalling £30,879.87 before recoupment.
Practical note
Employers who fail to present a response and do not attend tribunal hearings face default judgments with ACAS uplift penalties of up to 25% for procedural failures, significantly increasing their liability.
Award breakdown
Adjustments
Respondent unreasonably failed to comply with the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures 2015. 25% uplift applied to awards for breach of contract, unlawful deductions from wages, holiday pay and compensatory award for unfair dismissal.
Legal authorities cited
Statutes
Case details
- Case number
- 6011976/2024
- Decision date
- 18 March 2025
- Hearing type
- default judgment
- Hearing days
- 1
- Classification
- default
Respondent
- Sector
- manufacturing
- Represented
- No
Employment details
Claimant representation
- Represented
- No