Mr Riley Dunford v Mr Shane Mansell Spencer t/a Market Tap, Castleford — 2025

Mr Riley Dunford gave oral evidence and written evidence that he had been appointed as a barista at Market Tap in Castleford, run by Mr Shane Mansell Spencer, and that there was no corporate respondent. No ET3 was filed and there was no appearance for the respondent. The tribunal accepted the claimant’s unchallenged evidence as persuasive and cogent, and found that he had worked under the agreed terms and had been paid only £535 in cash during the relevant period.

The tribunal held that there was no evidence of any agreement varying the original terms or of any right reserved to withhold wages. It treated the complaint as an unlawful deduction from wages claim under section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and found that the claimant had suffered an unlawful withholding of 240 hours’ pay at an agreed gross hourly rate of £11.44. Judgment was entered for unpaid wages in the sum of £2,210.60 after credit for the cash already paid.