Case 2201951/2024 · Employment Tribunal
Mr A Ali v HCB Franchising Ltd t/a Headcase Barbers and 4 others — 2024
- Case reference
- 2201951/2024
- Decision date
- 23 July 2024
- Jurisdiction
- England & Wales
- Judge
- Employment Judge Davidson Representation
Parties
6 namedKey findings
Tribunal's reasoningEmployment Judge Davidson, sitting at London Central via Cloud Video Platform on 17 July 2024, found that the claimant was an employee of the first respondent (HCB Franchising Ltd t/a Headcase Barbers) at the relevant time and was not self-employed; any 'self-employed' label given by the first respondent was incorrect, and sums paid represented net pay with the first respondent responsible to HMRC for tax and National Insurance. The claimant had no contractual relationship with the second, third or fourth respondents.
The tribunal upheld complaints of unauthorised deductions from wages (£5,100 net, covering 30 May to 13 September 2023), breach of contract in relation to notice pay (£550 net), and holiday pay under regulation 14(2) and/or 16(1) of the Working Time Regulations 1998 (£1,280). Under section 38 of the Employment Act 2002, the tribunal found the first respondent was in breach of its duty to provide a written statement of employment particulars when proceedings began, with no exceptional circumstances making an award unjust or inequitable, and awarded four weeks' gross pay (£2,200).
The first respondent was ordered to pay the claimant a total of £9,130. The claims against the second, third and fourth respondents were dismissed. The respondents did not attend and the claimant appeared in person.
Claims and outcomes
5 findings recordedThis case has mixed outcomes under at least one legal claim type. A tribunal can uphold some allegations and dismiss others under the same legal head, so rows below may represent separate issues or allegation groups from the judgment.
| Claim type | Issue or finding | Outcome | Protected characteristic | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unlawful deduction from wages | Unauthorised deductions from wages by the first respondent in the period 30 May to 13 September 2023. Award is the net sum deducted; first respondent responsible for tax/NI. | Upheld | — | £5,100 |
| Breach of contract | Breach of contract in relation to notice pay; £550 net awarded as damages. | Upheld | — | £550 |
| Holiday pay | First respondent failed to pay the claimant in accordance with regulation 14(2) and/or 16(1) of the Working Time Regulations 1998. | Upheld | — | £1,280 |
| Other | Section 38 Employment Act 2002 award for failure to provide a written statement of employment particulars; four weeks' gross pay awarded. | Upheld | — | £2,200 |
| Other | Claims against the second, third and fourth respondents (Castleford Rose Ltd, Barbers Alliance Ltd, Jol (Wimbledon)) were dismissed; the tribunal found the claimant had no contractual relationship with those respondents. | Dismissed | — | — |
Remedy
Monetary award- Total award
- £9,130
- across all upheld claims
Legal tests applied
3 references- regulation 14(2) Working Time Regulations 1998
- regulation 16(1) Working Time Regulations 1998
- section 38 Employment Act 2002
Official outcome judgment PDF
Gov.uk primary recordThe official judgment PDF on gov.uk contains the tribunal's outcome, reasoning, and any remedy details. Where this page does not yet show extracted outcomes for every claim, use the PDF as the authoritative source.
Published on gov.uk under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
How we got this data
Case essentials (reference, date, judge, venue, country, claim categories) are extracted from the structured metadata gov.uk publishes alongside each decision. Parties and monetary figures are extracted from the judgment PDF text. Key findings and per-claim outcomes require a second extraction pass that is not yet complete for this case — until then, the primary source linked above is the authoritative record. See full methodology.
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