Samuel Ball v Rowley Manor Lifestyles UK Limited (in Creditors Voluntary Liquidation) Heard: by CVP — 2024

The claimant was employed by the respondent as a Second Chef from 1 April 2023 and was promoted to Kitchen Manager in August 2023, remaining in employment until 30 December 2023. The respondent did not enter a response to the claim and did not attend the hearing; shortly before the hearing a solicitor for the liquidator wrote to the Tribunal asserting that the claimant had been self-employed. On the evidence of the claimant and his brother, the Employment Judge found that the claimant was an employee, that he had never asked to be self-employed, and that he reported to and took instructions from a director of the respondent.

The Tribunal found that during the last three months of his employment the claimant was entitled to net wages of £6,988.46 but had received only £6,866.16 in total, and that the first £3,866.43 of those payments represented reimbursement for stock purchased at Makro (£2,097.86) and wages paid by the claimant to other staff (£1,768.57). The balance left £2,999.73 attributable to wages, producing an unauthorised deduction of £3,988.73. Applying Regulation 14(3) of the Working Time Regulations 1998, the claimant was entitled to 21 days' accrued holiday pay at a daily rate of £110.61, totalling £2,322.81 gross.

The respondent had failed to provide itemised pay statements contrary to s.8 ERA 1996, and the Tribunal ordered payment of the unnotified deductions of £1,872.42 under s.12(4) ERA 1996. The respondent had also failed to provide a statement of initial employment particulars or a statement of changes on promotion, in breach of ss.1 and 4 ERA 1996, and the Tribunal considered it just and equitable to award four weeks' pay under s.38 Employment Act 2002, capped at the statutory weekly maximum of £643, giving £2,572.