Mr Fathi Joe Zaoui v The Bulls Head Inn (Inkberrow) Ltd — 2019

The claimant worked for the respondent from 21 October 2018 to 4 November 2018, a period of two weeks, on an annual salary of £30,000. The tribunal accepted that the claimant had received the contract before starting work and knew the terms on which he was being employed. It also found that the employment relationship broke down, with evidence that the claimant refused to cook in the way he was being asked to and that there was a conflict in the kitchen.

The wrongful dismissal claim failed. Although the contract did not give a notice period until after three months' service, the tribunal read that alongside s.86 ERA 1996 and found that the claimant had not yet reached one month's service, so he had no entitlement to notice at all. Dismissing him without notice was therefore not a breach of contract.

The tribunal upheld the unlawful deduction from wages claim. It found that the claimant should have been paid £1,153.85 for the two weeks he worked, calculated on the basis of 2/52 of his annual salary, and that he had in fact received only £500. The respondent relied on paragraph 5(v) of the contract to justify accommodation deductions, but the tribunal held that term was too vague and uncertain to authorise deductions under s.13 ERA 1996, so the deduction of £653.85 was unlawful. By consent, the respondent was also ordered to pay £144.23 for 1.5 days' holiday pay.

The tribunal further declared that the respondent had failed to provide an itemized pay statement contrary to s.8 ERA 1996. A complaint about the claimant's P45 was dismissed because the tribunal held it fell outside its jurisdiction. The total sum ordered to be paid was £798.08.