Mr Bartek Tomaszewski v Mr Richard Howard — 2023

The tribunal found that Mr Tomaszewski had been employed by Managed Mail Service Ltd for the Kickstart period, and that Mr Howard later personally offered to extend the placement for an additional month, describing it as being paid "out of my own pocket". On the evidence of the email exchange, text messages, and the claimant's oral evidence, the tribunal found that Mr Tomaszewski worked 79 hours between 1 September and 23 or 24 September 2022 and was not paid for that work.

Mr Howard argued that the claim should not proceed because the ACAS early conciliation certificate named "Managed Mail Services Ltd" rather than Mr Howard or his company, Managed Mail Service Ltd. The tribunal treated that point as a strike-out issue but held that the mismatch did not prevent the claim from being determined, noting that the respondent had received the claim, had replied to it, and that the certificate address matched the company's address. It also found the claim form was validly served.

Applying section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and Delaney v Staples, the tribunal held that the unpaid wages were "wages properly payable" and that Mr Howard's decision not to pay because he considered the claimant had done a poor job amounted to an unauthorised deduction. It assessed the deduction at £725.22, being 79 hours at £9.18 per hour.

The tribunal then applied the ACAS Code of Practice and section 207A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, finding a total failure by the respondent to engage with the claimant's grievance about unpaid wages. It increased the award by 25%, producing a final sum of £906.53.