Robert Crutchley v Ice Telecommunications Ltd — 2021

Robert Crutchley brought a claim for unauthorised deduction from wages in respect of commission payments said to be due between 7 April 2020 and 21 December 2020, totalling about £25,433.59. Employment Judge Steward held that the commission arrangement arose under a deed of introduction and sale of goodwill dated 17 October 2018, which was separate from the contract of employment dated 8 October 2018.

The tribunal found that the deed was not a contract of employment. It noted that the commission scheme was already in place when the deed was signed and that, for the purposes of the deed, the claimant did not meet the definition of a worker under section 230(3)(b) of the Employment Rights Act 1996. On that basis, the claim did not fall within section 13(1) of the Act.

The tribunal also held that the commission was not wages within section 27(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 because it was not earned in the course of the employment contract and was not payable under the subsisting contract of employment. The tribunal said the duties under the employment contract had nothing to do with the commission payable under the deed, and that the commission remained part of the deed even if the claimant had failed to take up employment under the contract.

The claim for commission was therefore dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.