Miss P Robinson v Inndependance Ltd — 2024

Miss P Robinson brought an unlawful deduction from wages claim after there was confusion about the identity of her former employer. The claim was first presented against The Brewers Arms, then amended to Inndependence Ltd and re-served. No response was filed, and the tribunal proceeded under rule 21 of the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure 2013, being satisfied that it had enough information to determine the claim.

The tribunal found that the claimant had been employed from 23 May 2023 to 31 January 2024 as a bar person, working on average 12 hours a week at £10.50 an hour. It accepted the documentary material she provided, including text exchanges, a diary of hours worked, a redacted bank statement showing the respondent as responsible for paying wages, and evidence of travel undertaken to try to recover the money owed.

On the evidence before it, the tribunal found that 12.5 hours at the end of the employment had not been paid, producing wages properly payable of £131.25. It therefore held that the unlawful deduction of wages claim was well founded and ordered the respondent to pay that gross sum.

The tribunal also accepted that the claimant had incurred £25 in travel costs trying to recover the unpaid wages. Relying on section 24(2) of the Employment Rights Act 1996, it ordered that additional amount to compensate her for financial loss attributable to the deduction. The tribunal stated that it had no power to make an award of interest.