£25,000 for early termination of apprenticeship contract
19 April 2017
Reported by Personnel Today, in the case of Kinnear v Marley Eternit Ltd t/a Marley Contract Services, the employment tribunal awarded a roof tiler £25,000 over the breach of his contract of apprenticeship.
Mr Kinnear became an apprentice roof tiler with Marley Eternit in October 2014. His contract of apprenticeship was due to run until November 2018.
In June 2016, he was advised that there had been a downturn in business and that his employment was being terminated on the basis of redundancy. His appeal against dismissal was rejected.
Mr Kinnear brought a claim for breach of contract in an employment tribunal. The company did not enter a defence to the employment tribunal claim.
In upholding Mr Kinnear’s claim, the tribunal noted that he had 122 weeks left to run on his apprenticeship. It assessed that he would have been paid £24,217 for the remainder of his apprenticeship.
The tribunal acknowledged that the lack of a roofing qualification might disadvantage him in the labour market for a number of years to come.
While the employment tribunal did not assess in detail Mr Kinnear’s potential future loss of earnings, it accepted that his losses were likely to reach at least £25,000 (the maximum an employment tribunal can award for breach of contract).
You can read the full details of the case on GOV.UK - Kinnear v Marley Eternit Ltd t/a Marley Contract Services.