Mr S Digpal v Wilson James Ltd — 2021

The Claimant brought a complaint of unauthorised deduction of wages under section 23 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The sole issue was the agreed rate of pay while he worked as a Security Officer on the Respondent's F100 Support Team from 2019 onwards. The Claimant argued he should receive higher site rates when covering at locations where permanent officers were paid more; the Respondent argued the Support Team rate was £10.55 regardless of location.

The Tribunal found that the parties had reached an agreement on pay. It held that the Claimant accepted the proposed contract clause stating a rate of £10.55, and that his proposed amendment to the appendix added a minimum-rate provision rather than a right to higher geographical site rates.

Interpreting the contractual wording, the Tribunal found that "assignment" and "site assignment" referred to assignment to the Support Team, not to each geographical location. It concluded that the Claimant's rate of pay while assigned to the F100 Support Team was £10.55 regardless of the geographical location at which he worked. The complaint was therefore dismissed.