Mr D Millington v Her Majesty’s Revenues and Customs — 2021

The tribunal held that the claimant’s terms of employment incorporated HMRC’s pay guidance, including the documents referred to as HR 41080 and HR 41062. It accepted that those provisions governed how pay was calculated where an employee moved between the London and National pay areas, and it relied on the appointment documentation and section 1 statement as supporting incorporation. The tribunal also referred to Alexander v Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd and Hussain v Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust when considering whether the policy wording was apt to have contractual effect.

On the facts, the claimant had moved voluntarily from the London office at Custom House to the Reading office in October 2017, whereas the tribunal distinguished his position from colleagues who had been required to move under the respondent’s reorganisation. It accepted evidence that Reading was not within the London pay area and concluded that, on transfer, the claimant’s pay properly moved to National pay. The tribunal found that the claimant had been paid the wages properly payable to him and that there had been no unauthorised deduction within s.13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The claim of unlawful deduction from wages was therefore dismissed.