Claimant v Perfect Fit Scotland Ltd — 2023

The claimant brought a claim for unlawful deductions from wages after the respondent did not enter a Notice of Appearance. At the final hearing, the claimant said his normal weekly pay was £666 gross and that 20% CIS tax had been deducted because he had been registered by the respondent as a sub-contractor. He said he had tried to recover the week’s lying time withheld on termination of his contract, without success, and produced text messages in which the respondent accepted the sums were due and would be paid.

The tribunal found that the respondent had unlawfully deducted one week’s pay from the claimant’s wages. It accepted that there was no valid reason for the respondent to withhold the sums and held that this amounted to an unlawful deduction from wages within section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The tribunal ordered the respondent to pay £536 net in compensation.