Mr E Critchley v Christopher Bennett t/a Christopher Bennett Hairdressing — 2020

Mr E Critchley brought an equal pay complaint and claims for unlawful deduction from wages and holiday pay against Christopher Bennett t/a Christopher Bennett Hairdressing. The tribunal rejected the equal pay complaint. It held that the sex equality clause in the claimant's contract had no effect in relation to the difference between his terms and those of the comparator because the respondent had proved that the difference was due to a material factor, and that reliance on that factor did not involve treating the claimant less favourably because of sex.

The tribunal upheld both monetary claims. It found that the respondent had made an unlawful deduction from wages of £77.50 and ordered payment of that gross sum. It also found an unlawful deduction from holiday pay of £68.76 and ordered payment of that gross sum.

The judgment note states that paragraph 2 was made by consent. It also records that the claimant contended paragraph 3 should have been calculated on terms varied by the equality clause, but that contention failed in light of the equal pay decision. The attached interest notice stated that unpaid sums would carry simple interest under the Employment Tribunals (Interest) Order 1990 at 8% from 6 November 2020 if not paid within 14 days after the decision was sent, but no separate interest figure was calculated in the judgment.