In person For the v Mr S Ratajski — 2020

The claimant brought a claim for unlawful deduction from wages seeking arrears of pay, including £1,500 he said was owed as a bonus and a further sum said to relate to tax allegedly withheld. The hearing was conducted by video before Employment Judge Siddall sitting alone. The tribunal found that the claimant qualified as a worker for the purposes of section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 because he was required to perform the work personally, was under the respondent's direction, and was not in business on his own account for this project.

On the bonus issue, the tribunal accepted that the parties had agreed a £1,500 payment, but found that the arrangement was conditional on the project being completed on time and in a satisfactory way. There was no written agreement, but the tribunal preferred the respondent's evidence that the project was overrunning and that the claimant's involvement was ended on 21 December 2019 because the respondent was not happy with his performance as site manager. The tribunal also relied on an email sent by the claimant after the contract ended, which it said lent some support to the respondent's case that substantial work remained outstanding at Christmas 2019.

The tribunal therefore held that the bonus was not due. It also found that the claimant had not established that any sums were owed by way of tax that had been illegally withheld. The claim for unlawful deduction from wages was accordingly not well founded and failed in full. No monetary award was made.