Claimant v The Hair Venue — 2021

The claimant was employed by the respondent as a hairdressing apprentice under a contract of apprenticeship from 7 September 2020 to 17 July 2021. She said the contract entitled her to be paid for a standard 30-hour week at rates of £4.15 and later £4.30 per hour, and that there was no contractual basis for paying her only for hours actually worked or for withholding pay when the salon was closed during lockdown. The respondent said it was only obliged to pay for hours worked and that there had been a contractual variation during lockdown. The tribunal found there was no genuine agreement to vary the contract and no written agreement that would make any deduction lawful under s13 Employment Rights Act 1996.

The tribunal construed the contract in context and held that clause 5, read with clause 6, did not create a zero-hours arrangement. It found that the apprenticeship contract presupposed attendance and work, subject to the specified variation on Thursdays, and that the only logical interpretation was that the claimant was entitled to a minimum 30-hour week. On that basis, the tribunal held that the claimant was entitled to be paid in accordance with the contract while she remained ready, willing and able to work, even though the salon was required to close during the lockdown periods and the claimant was not furloughed.

The unlawful deduction from wages claim was therefore upheld and the tribunal awarded £2,263.12 for unpaid salary. The separate claim for failure to provide itemised pay statements under s8 Employment Rights Act 1996 was also upheld. The tribunal did not make any further monetary award for that complaint because any unnotified deductions were already dealt with in the wages claim and a further order would have amounted to double recovery.