Mr Muhammad Hussain v Roombookers (Europe) Ltd — 2018

An unfair dismissal claim had already been dismissed because the claimant did not have the necessary service, so the written reasons addressed only the unlawful deductions claim. The respondent did not attend the hearing. The tribunal heard the claimant's evidence and accepted it on the balance of probabilities.

The tribunal found that the parties had a contractual relationship, but the agency agreement dated 5 September 2017 was not the exclusive record of their arrangement. It held that the claimant had to perform the work personally because the role was airside at Birmingham airport and required a security pass, so he could not send a substitute. It also found a sufficient level of mutuality of obligation, regular attendance expectations, and that he had been recruited to work at the respondent's stand rather than carrying on a business on his own account. On that basis, the tribunal concluded that he was a worker.

On the pay dispute, the tribunal accepted the claimant's evidence that where passengers had no email address he had been told by Philip Brown to use a made-up address so the form could be submitted, and that the respondent knew and accepted that practice. It rejected the respondent's allegation of fraudulent activity. The amounts withheld were not limited to any allegedly incorrect forms; they related to all commission due for the period 26 November 2017 to 27 January 2018, and the claimant had not consented to the deduction. The tribunal awarded £850.50 for unlawful deductions from wages.