Mr John Wallace v Respondent — 2023

Mr John Wallace brought a claim alleging an unauthorised deduction from wages. The respondent accepted wages were due but said an authorised deduction had been made for the cost of repairing damage to the vehicle driven by the claimant. The claimant sought a postponement because he was in Spain, but the application was refused and the hearing proceeded in his absence.

The tribunal heard evidence from Ms Guild, the owner of the respondent company, and preferred her evidence that the claimant had been given a contract of employment as part of a welcome pack on 29 November 2022. The claimant had started work on 24 November 2022 and was on a six-month probationary period. The contract included clause 8, which authorised deduction from wages for negligent or wilful damage caused by the employee.

The tribunal found that the claimant left work on 3 December 2022 after saying he found the job too stressful and was leaving immediately, despite being told that two weeks' notice was required under the contract. It also found that the fifth wheel on the truck he had been driving was damaged and that the repair cost was £989.77 including VAT. Ms Guild calculated wages due to the claimant at £1,015.10 gross, including £33 expenses for a parking ticket, with net pay of £772.18, and she paid the £33 parking ticket sum separately.

Applying section 13 of the Employment Rights Act, the tribunal held that the claimant had been given a copy of the written contract before the deduction was made, so the deduction was authorised by a relevant contractual provision. It concluded the respondent was entitled to offset the repair cost against the wages due and dismissed the claim.