Mr M Galvez Vergara v Ventura Property Limited — 2019

The only claim before the tribunal was for unauthorised deductions from wages under s.13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. Employment Judge Quill, sitting alone, held that Mr M Galvez Vergara was a worker engaged by Ventura Property Limited to do tiling work at a site in Godolphin Road, rather than a self-employed contractor working in business on his own account. The tribunal found that the work was to be done personally, that there was no written contract, and that there was no agreement authorising deductions if the work was poor or if the respondent needed to hire someone else to finish the job.

The tribunal preferred the claimant's account and the WhatsApp evidence on the start and end of the work. It found that he worked on 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12 November 2018 at an agreed rate of £150 per day. It rejected the respondent's case that he only worked on 7 and 8 November, and found that by 12 November 2018 he had been told that his services were no longer required. On that basis, the amount properly payable was £1,050 gross and the amount actually paid was £312.50 gross.

The tribunal therefore held that the shortfall of £737.50 gross was an unauthorised deduction from wages and ordered Ventura Property Limited to pay that amount. It also considered limitation under s.23 ERA 1996 and held that the claim was in time because the unpaid work on 12 November 2018 formed part of a series of deductions, with the last deduction falling on or after 13 November 2018.