Nora Cecilia Garcia Artica v Alejandra De La Pena — 2020

The claimant worked as a cleaner performing household duties for the respondent between 5 August 2020 and 18 September 2020. At the remote public hearing in London Central on 17 November 2021, the respondent argued that the parties had reached a settlement, relying on a verbal understanding and a WhatsApp message asking for at least £200. The tribunal rejected that point, finding there was no written settlement agreement and no ACAS settlement, so section 203 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 did not prevent the claim.

On the wages issue, the tribunal found that the claimant was paid £350 per week on a flexible basis and that this was for up to about 40 hours per week. On that footing the hourly rate was £8.75, which was above the National Living Wage of £8.72 for the relevant period. The complaint that she had been paid below the National Living Wage therefore failed.

The tribunal did find an unauthorised deduction from the claimant's final week's wages. She should have been paid £350 for that week but was paid £200, with £150 retained because she was said to have broken a vase. The tribunal held that deduction was not authorised by section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and was not exempt under section 14, so the claim succeeded to that extent. The tribunal also found that the respondent had failed to provide a written statement of particulars of employment and awarded two weeks' gross pay, £700, under section 38 of the Employment Act 2002. The total award was £850 gross.