Daniel Lester v E&S Environmental Services Limited Heard: via CVP — 2024

The claimant, Daniel Lester, brought a claim of unlawful deduction from wages in relation to deductions made by E&S Environmental Services Limited between June 2021 and March 2024. The respondent accepted that deductions were made, but said they were made pursuant to Council Tax Attachment of Earnings Orders issued by Salford City Council. The tribunal found that the deductions in issue were made to satisfy those orders, including deductions taken in June and July 2021, January and February 2022, and November 2023 to March 2024.

The tribunal recorded that some other orders had been issued but were not processed: one order of £2,804.36 was cancelled, and later orders of £2,145.29, £36.19 and £859.45 were not acted on after the Council asked the respondent not to process deductions. The issue for determination was whether the deductions that were actually made were unauthorised within section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

Applying sections 13, 14 and 23 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, and following Reynolds v Cornwall County Council, the tribunal held that the respondent was entitled to act on the Attachment of Earnings Orders served on it and did not have to decide whether the underlying council tax liability orders were valid. The tribunal rejected the claimant’s argument that the deductions were unlawful because the respondent had not checked the validity of the orders. It concluded that any dispute about liability under the orders was a matter between the claimant and Salford City Council.

The claim was therefore not well founded and was dismissed. No monetary award was made.