INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNALS

CASE REF: 3585/03

APPLICANT:	Elizabeth Lillian Digney

RESPONDENT:	Brian Davies t/a Springers Restaurant

DECISION

The unanimous decision of the tribunal is that the applicant’s claim for damages for breach of contract is upheld and that a sum of £425.00 unpaid salary should be paid to the applicant by the respondent.

Appearances:

The applicant appeared in person.

The respondent appeared in person.

Decision of the tribunal given in summary form.

1.	As a result of an argument between the applicant and the respondent the applicant terminated her employment with the restaurant run by the respondent on Friday 11 July 2003 with the intention of not returning to work.  She gave no notice of her intention to leave her employment.

2.	Having considered the matter over the weekend however the applicant did feel that she should work out one week’s notice and she therefore telephoned to the restaurant (the respondent himself was by that time away on holiday) and informed Mrs Rodgers the sub-manager that she would be available to work during that week.  However her offer was not taken up by Mrs Rodgers.

3.	The applicant claimed that she was owed certain unpaid holiday pay.  It was agreed between the parties that the holiday year for the applicant ran from 25 June to 24 June of the next year.  As the applicant had been saving up the previous year’s holiday she was owed 16 days holiday for the year up to 24 June 2003.  This comprised 15 days annual holiday plus one untaken statutory day.

4.	The applicant also claimed one-day’s leave in respect of the three weeks worked up until her termination of contract and this was accepted by the tribunal.  The tribunal therefore award the applicant 17 days pay in lieu of the leave which the applicant had not taken.  The applicant’s wage for a 5-hour day was £25.00 net.  The applicant is therefore entitled to
17 x £25.00 = £425.00.  The tribunal find accordingly.

5.	The tribunal are satisfied that the applicant did leave without giving the respondent the one week’s notice which she should have given to him but that she did telephone to the restaurant the following week to offer her services for that week.  In the circumstances the tribunal make no deduction in respect of the respondent’s claim that the applicant was herself in breach of contract.

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

Chairman:
Date and place of hearing: 21 January 2004, Belfast.
Date decision recorded in register and issued to parties: