Mr Cameron Shaw v Alphadean Ltd (in Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation) — 2023

Mr Cameron Shaw brought a claim against Alphadean Ltd (in Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation) for unpaid wages and pension deductions. The respondent did not file a response and did not attend the hearing. The tribunal heard the claimant’s evidence under affirmation and accepted it as unchallenged, persuasive and cogent.

The tribunal found that Mr Shaw worked for the respondent as a Kitchen Assistant at Handmade Burger Company at Meadowhall, Sheffield, from 1 September 2022 until he gave notice on 15 October 2022, with his last working day on 26 October 2022. A payslip dated 31 October 2022 showed that the respondent accepted he was entitled to pay for 114.5 hours outstanding and unpaid, with a net amount of £1,182.43 after deductions and pension contribution deductions of £30.96.

The respondent’s liquidators suggested that employees had been transferred to another company, but gave no details of the alleged transferee or the date of any transfer. The tribunal accepted neither that suggestion nor any basis for it, and found that Mr Shaw’s employment had not been transferred when it ended and the wages became due.

Applying section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, the tribunal held that there had been an unlawful withholding of pay. It awarded £1,182.43 for unpaid wages and £30.96 for pension deductions not remitted to the pension administrator, making a total award of £1,213.39. The judgment’s operative reasons support that figure, although paragraph 1 of the judgment records a total of £1,213.96.