Mr J Harris v Meatcleaver Limited — 2019

Mr Harris brought an unlawful deduction from wages claim in respect of work he said he carried out for Meatcleaver Limited between 9 July and 24 July 2018 as a restaurant manager with front-of-house duties. The respondent disputed the hours said to have been worked, but it did not attend the hearing and was not represented. The tribunal considered the claim form, the response, Mr Harris's written evidence and documents, and found his evidence on the work done to be more probable than not.

The tribunal accepted that Mr Harris had worked for the respondent and was entitled to be paid. It found that the respondent had unlawfully deducted £1,153.84 from his salary, and after taking account of sums already paid and the value of a two-week travelcard at £82.40, it declared that £695.13 had been unlawfully deducted and ordered the respondent to repay that amount forthwith. The reasons section records slightly different figures for the amount already paid, but the judgment itself states the award as £695.13.

The tribunal also dealt with time limits. It found that the claim was first presented on 8 October 2018, within three months of the end of the employment period, but that it was rejected because the name on the early conciliation certificate did not match the respondent name on the claim form. It found that Mr Harris acted promptly after receiving the rejection letter dated 8 November 2018, and that it was not reasonably practicable for him to present a compliant claim in time, so it extended time and treated the resubmitted claim of 21 November 2018 as in time.