My next success! Case before the Employment Tribunal won

Jan 4

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Ms Ewa Gospodarek v Ms Luboslava Gallova t/a No Creases Harmony

The Employment Tribunal upheld claims for unfair and wrongful dismissal, unpaid holiday pay, and unlawful deductions.

In December 2025, the case before the Employment Tribunal concluded, in which I had the pleasure of representing the Claimant.

The Tribunal upheld Ms Gospodarek’s claims of unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal (notice pay), holiday pay, and unlawful deduction from wages. The Respondent was ordered to pay compensation.

The pleaded factual background

Ms Gospodarek (a Polish national) worked as an ironer for the Respondent on part-time basis, a sole trader operating as No Creases Harmony, starting 6 January 2023.

From January 2025 the Claimant’s hours were reduced, and she was pressed to become self‑employed (which she refused). In April 2024, she received a without‑prejudice settlement proposal, followed days later by a dismissal letter alleging work elsewhere while off sick.

We pleaded that no investigation meeting took place, she was not given a fair chance to respond, and no disciplinary procedure or appeal was provided, including basic ACAS Code steps (notification of allegations, meeting, opportunity to respond). The claim sought unfair dismissal, notice pay, holiday pay, unlawful deductions, and an ACAS uplift for Code breaches.

What the Tribunal’s outcome shows

Procedural fairness matters.

The Tribunal awarded a 15% ACAS uplift on the compensatory award because of breaches of the ACAS Code on disciplinary and grievance procedures. Even a moderate uplift meaningfully increases the award where the Code isn’t followed (investigation, written allegations, meeting, right to be accompanied, decision, appeal).
Multiple heads of claim can succeed together.

The Claimant succeeded on unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal (notice), holiday pay, and unlawful deduction from wages - illustrating that failures around dismissal procedure often travel with wage/holiday irregularities.
Trading status doesn’t shield a sole trader.

The claim was properly directed at the individual sole trader (“t/a No Creases Harmony”), and the Tribunal issued orders against that Respondent. This is consistent with pleading practice where a business is operated by a sole trader.

Practical lessons for employers (and employees)

• Follow the ACAS Code scrupulously: investigate, set out allegations in writing, hold a meeting, allow representation, and offer an appeal. Failures risk an uplift (up to 25%) and a finding of unfair dismissal. In this case the uplift was 15%.
• Keep accurate wage/holiday records and pay what’s due on termination to avoid Working Time and unlawful deduction claims.
• Understand status and liability: if you’re a sole trader, liability is personal; closing or re‑branding the business doesn’t defeat a properly named claim.