Mr T Ambrozy v Omni Taverns Ltd — 2021

Mr T Ambrozy was employed by Omni Taverns Ltd as a chef from 1 November 2008 to 10 May 2021. At the final hearing on 1 December 2021, he withdrew his claim for unlawful deductions from wages relating to accrued untaken holiday pay and his breach of contract claim for notice pay, and both were dismissed pursuant to Rule 52.

The remaining claim concerned an alleged unlawful deduction from wages arising from a reduction in hourly rate between June 2020 and 10 May 2021. The tribunal found that, in the context of the respondent’s pandemic-related trading difficulties, Anne Still emailed the claimant on 29 June 2020 requesting a reduction in rate to £11 per hour, and the claimant replied the same day agreeing. It found there was no evidence that he had been improperly pressured or threatened with dismissal if he refused.

The tribunal held that the claimant’s contract of employment was validly varied with effect from 29 June 2020 and that the £11 hourly rate did not fall below the National Minimum Wage. It found that the claimant was paid at the revised rate for hours worked from that date and, therefore, received the wages properly payable to him under section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The claim under section 23 ERA 1996 was dismissed.

The claimant also said he had not been given written particulars of the change to his terms as required by section 4 ERA 1996. The tribunal accepted that the respondent had failed to give compliant statements of changes, but held that no section 38 Employment Act 2002 uplift could be made because the claimant did not succeed in the substantive wages claim.