Peter Hunter Rebecca Turner v NQA Foodbank C.I.C. — 2022

The claimants brought claims for unlawful deductions from wages under sections 13 and 23 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The respondent did not present a response, so the tribunal proceeded under rule 21 of the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure 2013 and heard sworn evidence from both claimants to decide whether the claims could properly be determined on the available material.

The tribunal found that Peter Hunter started work on 17 December 2021 as a cafe assistant and Rebecca Turner started on the same date doing front of house and cleaning work. It found that the parties had agreed a 25-hour working week, hourly rates of £8.36 for Mr Hunter and £6.56 for Mrs Turner, and monthly pay. No written contract was in place. The tribunal accepted that the claimants worked the agreed hours and that the first pay date, 31 December 2021, was missed. It also found that no payments were made on 31 January 2022, 28 February 2022, or 31 March 2022, save that Mrs Turner received the equivalent of one week's pay on 14 February 2022.

The tribunal concluded that the sums claimed were properly payable, that the failures to pay amounted to a series of deductions, that the respondent was not authorised to make the deductions, and that the claimants had not given written consent. It also found that the complaints were presented within the statutory time limit. The tribunal therefore held that the respondent unlawfully deducted £2,926 from Mr Hunter and £2,132 from Mrs Turner, and ordered those gross sums to be paid.