Mr B Phillips v TBC Consultants Limited — 2021

Mr B Phillips brought a claim for unlawful deduction from wages under section 23 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 against TBC Consultants Limited. The respondent did not present a response, did not provide contact details for the hearing, and did not attend. After attempts to contact the respondent, the tribunal proceeded under rule 47 and heard sworn evidence from Mr Phillips together with the papers in the tribunal file.

The tribunal found that Mr Phillips entered into a contract with the respondent on 2 October 2020 and started work on 12 October 2020. He worked 84.33 hours in October 2020. The tribunal found that the agreement for payment of £250 for the first month of work provided less than was required by the National Minimum Wage regime, and that the relevant hourly rate was £8.36 because Mr Phillips was 21 years old when the work was done.

Applying that rate to the hours worked, the tribunal calculated that £705.02 was due for the work done. It found that the respondent had not paid anything in respect of that work, so the unlawful deduction from wages claim was well founded and the respondent was ordered to pay £705.02. The claimant's application for a preparation time order was dismissed.