Mr P Fryc v Petr Kolar Construction Ltd — 2021

The respondent did not present a response and did not attend or represent itself at the hearing. The tribunal accepted the claimant as a compelling and wholly credible witness. It found that an Employment Agreement dated 31 December 2020 existed between the claimant and the respondent company, describing him as Team Leader/supervisor at £12 per hour, with 40 hours per week accepted as the regular working pattern. Although the arrangement was initially informal, the tribunal found that the claimant was employed formally from 31 December 2020 and in practice from 26 January 2021 until he resigned on 30 April 2021.

On the wages claim, the tribunal found that the claimant should have received £480 gross per week for 13 weeks, making £6,240.00 in total. It examined the bank statement and accepted that many payments were not true wages because they were immediately used to pay respondent business expenses or other costs on the respondent's behalf. The tribunal concluded that the claimant had given credit for £660.64 in total, leaving £5,579.36 gross unpaid, and held that the respondent had made unlawful deductions from wages in that amount.

On holiday pay, the tribunal found that the claimant had taken no paid annual leave during the employment. It applied the statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks per year rather than the 20 days stated in the employment agreement. For 13 weeks' employment, it awarded 1.4 weeks' pay at £480 per week, producing £672 gross under Regulation 14 of the Working Time Regulations 1998. The total award was £6,251.36 gross.