Mr J Bruce v NWMS Southern Division Limited — 2021

Mr J Bruce worked for NWMS Southern Division Limited from 16 May 2019 until 4 September 2019 and was paid on the 15th of each month for the previous month’s work. He did not receive payment for August 2019 or for the four days he worked in September 2019, so he brought a claim for unpaid wages covering 25 working days. The respondent did not attend the remote hearing and had not presented a response form.

The tribunal found that the respondent had made an unlawful deduction from wages by failing to pay the claimant for work done between 1 August 2019 and 4 September 2019. In assessing the amount due, Employment Judge McDonald considered the claimant’s contract, July 2019 payslip and bank statement evidence. The contract referred to payment at the apprenticeship minimum wage but did not specify an hourly rate.

The judge accepted the claimant’s evidence that he was entitled to be paid at £7.70 per hour, not £4.15 per hour. The reason given was that the net salary paid on 16 August 2019 for July work, £1,197.24, was consistent with a rate of £7.70 per hour and not with the lower apprenticeship rate. The tribunal also found that the claimant’s contractual hours were 40 per week, or 8 hours per day.

On that basis, the tribunal calculated the unpaid wages as £7.70 per hour multiplied by 8 hours per day for 25 days, producing a gross award of £1,540. The claimant had mentioned credit-card interest caused by the non-payment of wages, but he could not substantiate that loss, so no additional compensation was awarded.