Mr J King v Moba Mobile Automation Limited — 2021

Mr J King brought a claim against Moba Mobile Automation Limited for unlawful deduction from wages arising from deductions made from his February 2020 pay in respect of damage to a company van and mobile phone. Employment Judge R Vernon, sitting alone in Cardiff, found that the relevant pay date was 29 February 2020 and that the claim was presented on 31 May 2020 within the extended time limit after ACAS early conciliation, so the tribunal had jurisdiction to hear it.

The tribunal accepted that the contract of employment included a clause authorising deductions, including for non-return or damage to company equipment, and also considered the staff handbook provisions relating to the company vehicle. However, on the evidence it found that any damage to the van and phone was not caused by neglect, misuse or abuse. The judge accepted that the van had been used on difficult construction sites and found the damage more likely to have resulted from general use or accidental damage. The same approach was taken to the phone, where the tribunal accepted the claimant's evidence that the damage was accidental.

On that basis, the tribunal held that the contractual deduction clause did not justify the sums removed from pay and that the deduction was therefore unlawful contrary to s.13 ERA 1996. It ordered the respondent to repay £1,239.00, which was the amount actually deducted after a later reimbursement of £200, and noted that the larger figure claimed in the ET1 included 70p for which no basis was shown.

The claimant also sought to recover mortgage interest as additional financial loss under s.24(2) ERA 1996, saying he had taken a mortgage holiday because the deduction left him short of funds. The tribunal rejected that part of the claim because the mortgage holiday ran from May to August 2020 and was too remote from the February wage deduction to establish the required causal link.