In person For the v Naeco Ltd (In voluntary liquidation) — 2024

Employment Judge Anderson, sitting alone at Watford Employment Tribunal by CVP on 22 July 2024, heard the claimant's unauthorised deduction from wages claim. The claimant attended in person; the respondent, which is in voluntary liquidation, did not attend, although the liquidators had been notified of the hearing date. The judge proceeded on the basis of the claimant's oral evidence, which the judge described as detailed and cogent and had no reason to doubt.

The claimant's evidence, supported by HMRC records she had accessed through other self-employed work, was that the respondent had reported paying her £1,384.98 net for March 2023 and the same amount for April 2023, but she had in fact only received £500. Her annual wage was £40,000 pro rata, working half time (equivalent to £20,000). She gave two weeks' notice in April 2023 after the underpayment, with her last day of employment being 18 April 2023, and received no response to requests for payment of wages and holiday pay.

On the basis of that uncontested evidence, the tribunal found that the respondent had, in breach of s13(1) Employment Rights Act 1996, unlawfully deducted £2,269.96 from the claimant's wages for March and April 2023, and a further £450.50 in respect of 2.6 days accrued but untaken holiday at £173.12 per day net. The respondent was ordered to pay the claimant £2,720.46 net within 14 days.