Mr M Shah v Cortel Telecom Limited — 2018

Mr Shah initially presented claims including unfair dismissal and unlawful deduction of wages, but at the hearing he withdrew the unfair dismissal claim because he did not have two years' service. The tribunal therefore determined the case as a wages claim, and it also addressed the contractual consequences of his resignation after the respondent failed to pay him for September 2017.

The tribunal accepted that the contract and letter of appointment entitled Mr Shah to a gross salary of £2,500 per month, a minimum car allowance of £450 per month, paid holiday, and two weeks' notice after the first 12 months of service. It found that the respondent's letter of 31 August 2017 attempted to vary his pay unilaterally by making salary conditional on KPI performance, but Mr Shah did not agree to that variation and worked September under protest.

When the respondent did not pay his September salary, Mr Shah resigned by email on 2 October 2017. The tribunal held that the failure to pay contractual wages was a fundamental breach of contract. It therefore found that he had been constructively wrongfully dismissed and was entitled to two weeks' notice pay of £1,250 gross under clause 20.

On the wages claim, the tribunal awarded the September salary of £2,500 gross, 50% of the car allowance at £225 gross, and accrued holiday pay of £279.58 gross. It rejected the respondent's attempt to withhold the car allowance on the basis that the car was more than three years old, noting that the allowance had been paid for most of the claimant's service and that there was no good reason to refuse it in September.