In person For the v Respondent — 2023

The claimant presented a claim on 2 March 2023 for unauthorised deduction of wages and holiday pay. The tribunal accepted that the figures were not disputed: between September 2019 and November 2020 the claimant was overpaid £2,686.59. On 7 March 2021 she signed a loan request form agreeing to repay the overpayment at £44.52 per month over 60 months, and the form provided that any outstanding sum would be deducted from her final payment if she left the company.

The claimant resigned with immediate effect on 4 September 2022, leaving £1,840.71 outstanding. The final payslip was agreed to accurately record the sums due for pay and holiday entitlement. It deducted most of the outstanding amount and credited the claimant with £245.79 written off to her benefit.

Applying section 14(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and section 13(1)(b) of the same Act, the tribunal held that the claimant had no claim on either ground because deductions for overpayments were disapplied and she had previously signified in writing her agreement to the deductions. The claim was therefore dismissed.

On costs, the respondent sought £3,196 plus a £600 brief fee. The tribunal did not find that bringing the claim was unreasonable at the outset because the claimant had taken advice, but it held that after the respondent's letters of 3 May 2023, 17 May 2023 and 30 May 2023 she unreasonably continued to pursue a claim with no reasonable prospect of success. It awarded the respondent £600 in costs, being the brief fee only.