Patrick Quibell First v Second Respondent: Scott Ashley Cawthorne Ergix Data Communications Ltd — 2025

Employment Judge Brain, sitting alone at Sheffield by CVP on 9 May 2025, found that the claimant was a worker employed by the second respondent (Ergix Data Communications Ltd) but was not a worker or employee of the first respondent (Scott Ashley Cawthorne), who was dismissed from the proceedings as having no legal interest in them. The claimant was not an employee of either respondent.

The Tribunal upheld the complaint of unauthorised deductions from wages and ordered the second respondent to pay the gross sum of £3,600 (with the second respondent to make appropriate tax deductions and account to HMRC). The Tribunal held it had no jurisdiction to consider the claims for unpaid expenses and mileage in light of its finding on employment status.

The Tribunal further found that the second respondent was in breach of its duty to provide a written statement of employment particulars when proceedings began, and that there were no exceptional circumstances making an award unjust or inequitable. Under section 38 Employment Act 2002 it awarded the equivalent of two weeks' gross pay (£1,366). The total sum payable by the second respondent within 14 days was £4,900 (less tax on the wages element).