Mr M Sutton v Mark Bentley & Sarah Bentley T/A Mark Bentley Haulage — 2023

The tribunal substituted Mark Bentley & Sarah Bentley T/A Mark Bentley Haulage as the respondent under rule 34, recording that this was the correct business title and that the substituted respondent had been aware of the proceedings. Employment Judge Poynton sat alone and heard the case at Manchester on 17 January 2023. The judgment records that reasons were given orally at the hearing, so no written reasons were issued.

The claimant succeeded on his claim for unpaid wages in respect of working a week in hand. The tribunal found that he was due a week's pay for the period 1/6/2021-4/6/2021, that the respondent made an unauthorised deduction from wages by failing to pay that amount on termination, and it ordered payment of £750.

The claimant also succeeded on a claim for unauthorised deductions in respect of diesel, and the tribunal ordered payment of £110. A separate claim for breach of contract for unpaid parking fines and truck stop payments was dismissed as not well founded.

The claimant's holiday pay claim was upheld. The tribunal found that the respondent made an unauthorised deduction from wages by failing to pay the claimant in lieu of accrued but untaken annual leave on termination. The award on that claim was £600, made up of £150 deducted from the final salary and £450 for accrued but untaken annual leave. The total sum payable was therefore £1,460 gross, subject to deduction of income tax and national insurance contributions properly payable before payment.