Mr Sam Cumming v Mills Milk — 2023

The respondent did not enter a response and did not appear. The claimant, Mr Sam Cumming, gave evidence in person and the tribunal found him to be entirely credible and reliable, though his evidence was not tested in cross-examination. He had been employed by Mills Milk from 1 March 2023 to 21 April 2023, delivering milk four nights a week for £100 gross per night, with payment made fortnightly in arrears. He did not take any holidays during the employment, and weekly deductions of £16 for employee pension contributions were made despite his having opted out of auto-enrolment timeously.

The tribunal accepted the claimant’s unlawful deduction from wages complaints. It found that, as at termination, he had accrued 0.81 weeks of annual leave and was due 3.3 days of holiday, with the fraction less than a half treated as a half. On that basis, and using a daily rate of £100, it awarded £350 gross holiday pay under the Working Time Regulations 1998.

The tribunal also found that the claimant had not been paid wages due after 7 April 2023 and awarded £800 gross for arrears of wages, calculated as two unpaid periods of £400 each. It further ordered repayment of £80 gross for pension deductions, reflecting £16 per week over five weeks. The claimant had also raised a minimum wage concern during the hearing, but he said he did not seek to amend his claim and would raise that matter with HMRC instead.