In person For the v Wrights of London Limited (in liquidation) — 2019

The claimant worked at the respondent's restaurant from 18 September 2018 to 2 June 2019, first as a Sous Chef and then, from 4 January 2019, as Head Chef. The employment was under a contract dated 2 December 2018 with pay at £32,000 per annum and 28 days' holiday, and the tribunal found that the salary increased to about £36,000 from the promotion date. The respondent filed an ET3 but provided no substantive basis for resisting the claim, failed to comply with an order to provide information, and did not attend the hearing.

The tribunal accepted the claimant's bank records and found that the payslips produced by the respondent did not correspond with the payments actually made. It concluded that the claimant had been underpaid in three wage items totalling £1,083, including a £483 deposit deduction repayable on termination, a £200 deduction on 14 May 2019, and a £400 deduction on 31 May 2019. It also found that the respondent had not shown that the PAYE tax or employee national insurance deductions had been paid to HMRC, so those deductions were unlawful, subject to the respondent being able to prove payment to HMRC in satisfaction of that part of the order.

On holiday, the tribunal held that the Employee Handbook policy preventing carry-over did not apply because the claimant had not been given the handbook and it was not part of the contract. It found that he was entitled to payment in lieu of accrued untaken holiday from 2018 and a further five days for 2019 after rounding, and it assessed holiday pay at £1,307.70 gross. The tribunal ordered the respondent to pay £8,399.17 within 14 days, with the HMRC tax and NIC items treated as satisfied if the respondent could prove those sums had been paid over on the claimant's behalf.