In person For the v Mr Paul Welton, lay representative — 2022

The claimant worked for the respondent from 23 July 2018 to 22 April 2022. The respondent’s 2021 bonus scheme said any bonus payment would be made in March 2022 and that the employee had to be employed as at March 2022 and not have submitted a resignation. The respondent paid the claimant a bonus of £559.76 on 25 March 2022 as part of his March wages, and the claimant then gave notice on 28 March 2022 after that wage had been paid.

The sole issue was whether the respondent was entitled to deduct the bonus from the claimant’s final salary on 25 April 2022. Applying section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, the tribunal held that the deduction was not authorised. It found that the phrase “as at March 2022” was ambiguous and did not mean the whole of March 2022. The tribunal said that, at best, the wording could reasonably be understood to allow resignation after the bonus had been paid.

Resolving the ambiguity in the claimant’s favour under the contra preferentum rule, the tribunal concluded that “as at March” meant the beginning of March. On that basis, the respondent was not entitled to recover the bonus from the claimant’s final salary. The tribunal also said, alternatively, that there was an implied term that the employee was not to have submitted a resignation by the time the bonus was paid, and that on either interpretation the claimant was entitled to retain the payment.

The tribunal therefore found an unauthorised deduction of £559.76 and ordered the respondent to pay that sum to the claimant. No separate award for interest or any other remedy was recorded.