Mr N Kaya v Professional Canine and Security Ltd — 2020

Mr N Kaya worked for Professional Canine and Security Limited as a store detective from 2 September 2020 until his last shift on 23 September 2020, with an effective date of termination of 24 September 2020. The parties agreed that 117.75 hours had been worked and that gross pay due was £1,074.67; after deductions for tax and national insurance of £40.56, the wages properly payable were £1,034.11. The respondent paid nothing on the relevant payday and said it was entitled to deduct £477.28, made up of £366 for one week’s notice and £111.28 for training, the lanyard and the facemask.

The tribunal found that no written contract or terms of employment had been issued to the claimant before the deduction was made, and that he had not signed a statement acknowledging the respondent’s terms and conditions. On that basis there was no relevant contractual provision authorising the deductions, and there was no prior written agreement or consent by the claimant. The tribunal also said that even if the notice deduction clause in the respondent’s standard terms had applied, it would not have justified deducting an amount equal to a week’s pay.

The tribunal accepted that the claimant had been employed for less than one month by the time the contract ended, so he was not bound to give one week’s notice under section 86(2) of the Employment Rights Act 1996. It therefore declared the section 13 unlawful deduction complaint well founded and ordered the respondent to pay £634.11, that figure reflecting the £400 advance of wages already received by the claimant.