Mr Z Nasr v Strong Recruitment Group Heard — 2022

Mr Z Nasr brought a claim for unpaid wages, pleaded as deductions from wages and, alternatively, as breach of contract, against Strong Recruitment Group. The tribunal found that the claimant’s work as a driver had been assigned by Strong Recruitment Group, but the contract of employment was with We Contract Limited, an umbrella company, and that company was responsible for payment of wages. A contract signed on 28 April 2021 was relied on as evidence of that arrangement.

The tribunal also recorded that the claimant had entered ACAS early conciliation naming Strong Recruitment Group, but that no separate early conciliation was entered in respect of We Contract Limited. It held that, under section 18A(8) of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996, paragraph 4 of the Schedule to the Employment Tribunals (Early Conciliation: Exemptions and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2014, and rule 10(1)(c)(i), the claim against We Contract Limited had been rejected because the required early conciliation number was not present for that prospective respondent.

On the merits of the remaining claim, the tribunal found that Strong Recruitment Group was not the claimant’s employer, was not responsible for payment of his wages, and was not responsible for any underpayment of wages. The judgment therefore dismissed the claimant’s unpaid wages claim against Strong Recruitment Group.