Shabaz Shamim v Tech Mahindra HELD AT: Liverpool (remote, by CVP) — 2025

The claimant brought a claim for unlawful deduction from wages against Tech Mahindra. The respondent did not take part in the proceedings. Employment Judge Johnson accepted, on the payslips and loan documentation before the tribunal, that the claimant had been subject to unlawful deductions from his monthly pay from July 2022 to December 2022 totalling £800, recorded on payslips under the heading 'loss of pay'.

The tribunal found no explanation showing that those deductions were lawful under section 13 Employment Rights Act 1996. It also found that the respondent later reimbursed the deducted sums, but that the delay contributed to the claimant having to take out an unsecured loan at 16.9% APR. Applying section 24(2) ERA 1996, the tribunal awarded £101.40 for financial loss attributable to the delay.

The claimant also sought £600 said to be due as a commission or 'finders fee' for recommending a new employee. That part of the claim was dismissed because there was insufficient evidence of a contractual entitlement to the payment, although the tribunal noted there appeared to have been a practice of paying £600 in some circumstances. The written reasons contain an internal inconsistency about whether reimbursement occurred in or around April 2023 or April 2024, but the outcome remained that the underlying deductions were repaid and only the interest-related loss was awarded.