Mr P J Nsiah – v LJ Sure Mercies Care Limited — 2025

Employment Judge Smeaton, sitting alone at Watford, reserved judgment on the Claimant's complaints of unlawful deductions of wages and breach of contract (notice pay). The Claimant worked for the Respondent as a care worker. The Tribunal found that unlawful deductions of wages for the period from 6 January 2024 to 15 August 2024 were well-founded and succeeded, amounting to approximately 687.30 hours, with the parties to agree exact figures by reference to the applicable National Minimum Wage rates of £10.42 and £11.44.

Earlier alleged deductions, including a week from 31 December 2022 when the Claimant was suspended (the Second Deduction) and a prior period (the First Deduction), were held to have been brought out of time. The Tribunal found that those earlier deductions did not form part of a series with the in-time deductions because they arose from a different erroneous basis, and that it was not reasonably practicable to have brought them in time; jurisdiction was therefore declined and those claims were dismissed.

The breach of contract (notice pay) claim succeeded: the Claimant was entitled to one week's statutory notice based on 40 hours, having only been paid for 15 hours, so 25 hours remained owing. The Claimant's additional £6,000 claim for non-financial loss was not made out. The Tribunal also made a minimum award of two weeks' pay under s.38 Employment Act 2002 for the Respondent's breach of s.1 ERA 1996 in failing to provide a written statement of particulars, declining the higher four weeks' award. A remedy hearing was directed if the parties could not agree the final amount owed.