Mr G Brough v Miles Fox (Haulage) Limited — 2023

Mr Brough brought two unlawful deduction from wages complaints against Miles Fox (Haulage) Limited: one about meal allowance payments and one about holiday pay. Employment Judge Grundy found there was no signed written contract for the relevant period, so the tribunal relied on the parties' oral dealings, conduct, and custom and practice.

On meal allowances, the tribunal accepted the respondent's evidence that the allowance was only payable when a Class 1 driver worked 10 hours. It found the relevant rate was £120 per day, with a £10 taxable meal allowance and a £10 non-taxable payment on qualifying days, and it rejected the claimant's case that he was entitled to £140 per day or to the allowance on every shift. On that basis, the tribunal held that no unauthorised deduction was shown for the shifts under 10 hours that were in issue.

On holiday pay, the tribunal found that the respondent had not included meal allowance sums in its averaging calculation. It held that the allowances formed part of the claimant's normal pay when earned, so they had to be included in the holiday pay calculation. The tribunal therefore upheld the holiday pay complaint to that extent and directed the respondent to recalculate holiday pay by 13 October 2023, with the parties to report by 1 November 2023 whether any sums remained outstanding or whether a further hearing was needed. No final monetary award was fixed in the judgment.