Industrial Tribunals Northern Ireland Decisions

THE INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNALS

 

CASE REF: 288/16

 

 

 

CLAIMANT: Padraig John McGrath

 

 

RESPONDENT: Cranmore Recruitment Ltd

 

 

 

DECISION

The decision of the tribunal is that the claimant is entitled to the following sum of £789.21 by way of notice pay. The claimant is not entitled to any sum in respect of bonuses and that part of the claim is dismissed. The respondent failed to provide statutory particulars contrary to Articles 33(1) and 36(1) of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 and the claimant is awarded two weeks' gross pay under Article 27 of that Order amounting to £576.92. The claimant is therefore awarded, in total, £1,366.13.

Constitution of Tribunal:

Vice President (sitting alone): Mr N Kelly

 

Appearances:

The claimant appeared in person and was not represented.

The respondent company was represented by Ms N Flynn.

 

1. This claim concerned two issues. Firstly, there was a claim in respect of three weeks' notice pay allegedly due by the respondent to the claimant. Secondly, there was a claim in respect of two bonus payments allegedly due by the respondent company to the claimant.

 

2. The claimant had been employed as a trainee recruitment consultant by the respondent company for approximately six months. He was related to the owner of the respondent company and had been employed as a favour. The claimant resigned to move to a competitor.

 

3. In relation to the claim for notice pay, the claimant alleged that when he indicated that he was resigning, his supervisor, Mr Mark Flynn, had reached an agreement with him to delay his departure for four weeks. The claimant agreed to that arrangement. However, he had been almost immediately sent home and paid only one week's notice pay. The only person who could contradict the claimant's assertions in this respect was Mr Mark Flynn. He did not give evidence in this matter.

 

4. On the balance of probabilities, therefore, I conclude that the claimant and the respondent company had reached an agreement, which had been contractually binding, that he would work for four weeks by way of notice following his resignation. The claimant had delayed his start date with his new employer accordingly. That contractually binding agreement was not honoured by the respondent company and the claimant is therefore entitled to the unpaid three weeks' pay in lieu of notice.

 

5. The claimant's net pay with the respondent was £1,140.00 per month. That equates to an annual net pay of £13,680.00 and a net weekly pay of £263.07. The amount due is therefore £789.21.

 

6. The remaining part of the claim concerned the claimant's alleged entitlement to payment of outstanding bonus in respect of two recruitment placements.

 

7. There had been no written contract of employment in this case and neither party appeared particularly clear about the oral arrangements in relation to bonus entitlement. The respondent's representative stated that the industry standard is that when an individual resigns his employment, any entitlement to outstanding bonus claims expires. To my mind, that seems correct. Furthermore, I find it difficult to believe that a trainee recruitment consultant with a few months' experience and working under the direct supervision of Mr Flynn would have been entitled to 10% bonus, as the claimant alleges.

 

8. Again, the appropriate witness to deal with all of this would have been Mr Mark Flynn. However, in his absence and on the balance of probabilities, and after having considered the evidence of the respondent's representative in relation to the industry standards, I conclude that the claimant was not entitled to the alleged bonus in respect of the two recruitment exercises. It just seems highly unlikely that a newly-appointed trainee would be entitled to such large bonuses as he alleges.

 

9. The claim in respect of bonus entitlement therefore fails.

 

10. It was clear between the parties that the claimant had not been given a written contract of employment which included the statutory employment particulars required by Articles 33(1) and 36(1) of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996. The claimant has succeeded in a claim of breach of contract in respect of notice pay and therefore the tribunal is obliged, under Article 27 of the Employment (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 to make a minimum award of two weeks' gross pay in these circumstances. The tribunal does not consider it either just and equitable to make any further award up to the statutory maximum of four weeks' gross pay. The award is therefore two weeks' gross pay under this heading.

 

11. The gross pay of the claimant was £1,250.00 per month which equates to a gross annual salary of £15,000.00. That equates to a gross weekly salary of £288.46. The award of two weeks' gross pay therefore amounts to £576.92.

 

12. The total amount therefore payable to the claimant is £1,366.13.

 

13. This is a relevant decision for the purposes of the Industrial Tribunals (Interest) Order (Northern Ireland) 1990.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vice President

 

 

Date and place of hearing: 9 June 2016, Belfast

 

 

Date decision recorded in register and issued to parties: