Mr K Jones v SHR Contracts Ltd — 2022

The claimant, Mr K Jones, brought a single claim for unlawful deduction from wages arising from unpaid wages for the final two weeks of work and 2.5 days of accrued holiday pay. The respondent said he was a self-employed subcontractor and not a worker, so no entitlement under the Employment Rights Act 1996 arose.

The tribunal found that there was a verbal agreement for the claimant to work for the respondent, that he undertook the work personally, and that there was insufficient evidence of any agreed right of substitution. It found that the claimant was directed as to what work to do, where and when to do it, and that he was not free to work for other clients while engaged by the respondent. Applying the approach in Uber and s.230(3)(b) ERA 1996, the tribunal held that he was a worker and that the respondent was not his client or customer.

On remedy, the tribunal accepted that the claimant had not been paid for his final two weeks of work. Using the agreed daily rate of £180, it found an unlawful deduction of £1,800. It also found that he had accrued 2.5 days of annual leave by the end of the engagement, that this had not been taken, and that holiday pay was due under s.27(1)(a) ERA 1996 and regulation 16 of the Working Time Regulations 1998. The holiday pay was assessed at £450, producing a gross award of £2,250.