In person For the v Mr H Hujdurovic, Director — 2020

The claimant, a salaried sous chef, brought a monetary claim for unlawful deduction from wages after Elfordleigh Limited deducted his August 2019 pay from his final wages. The hearing was held remotely on 5 August 2020 before Employment Judge N J Roper. The tribunal heard evidence from the claimant and from the respondent's director, Mr H Hujdurovic, and considered the written contract and the claimant's timesheets.

The tribunal found that the claimant was paid a fixed salary throughout his employment, even though his hours varied week to week and he completed weekly timesheets. The respondent argued that clause 18 of the contract allowed it to recover alleged overpayments because the claimant had worked fewer than 40 hours a week on average and had overclaimed hours and holiday. The tribunal did not accept that analysis as establishing an overpayment of salary falling within the contractual deduction clause.

The parties agreed that the claimant had taken one day of holiday above his pro rata entitlement and that £88 could properly be deducted for that overpaid holiday. The tribunal therefore held that the remaining £627 deducted from the claimant's final pay was unlawful under section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and ordered the respondent to pay that gross sum.