Industrial Tribunals Northern Ireland Decisions

THE INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNALS

 

CASE REF:   06459/09

 

 

 

 

CLAIMANT:                      Marats Pronins

 

 

RESPONDENT:                Canopies Ireland Limited

 

 

 

DECISION

The unanimous decision of the tribunal is that the claimant has suffered an unauthorised deduction from wages by the respondent and orders the respondent to pay the claimant £533.28. 

 

 

Constitution of Tribunal:

Chairman:              Ms M Bell

Members:              Mr M Grant

Mrs E Kennedy

 

 

Appearances:       

The claimant appeared in person.   

The respondent did not appear and was not represented.

 

1.               The claimant in his claim complained that he had not been paid his last three weeks wages and a redundancy payment by the respondent on termination of his employment. The claimant’s claim in respect of failure to pay a redundancy payment was rejected on 13 August 2009 as he had not been continuously employed for a period of not less than two years.

 

2.               The respondent confirmed in its response that it did not intend to resist the claimant’s claims and that the claimant was dismissed because the respondent could no longer afford to trade.

 

Issues

 

3.               The issue for the Tribunal is whether the claimant has suffered an unauthorised deduction from wages by the respondent?

Evidence

 

4.               The Tribunal considered the claim, response, documentation received from the claimant and heard the claimant’s oral evidence.

 

Findings of Fact

 

5.               The claimant commenced employment with the respondent in Spring 2008 as a joiner but his employment was terminated on 11 February 2009 when the respondent informed him that the company was no longer trading.

6.               The claimant received from the respondent three cheques for wages due to him for the last three weeks he had worked for the respondent, dated 22 January 2009 for £212.72, 28 January 2009 for £152.00 and 4 February 2009 for £168.56 but these were all returned to the claimant by his bank after lodgement, marked “referred to drawer”.  The claimant has not received payment from the respondent for his last three weeks’ wages.

The Law

 

7.               Under Article 45 of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 a worker has the right not to suffer an unauthorised deduction from wages by his employer,  a deduction occurs when the employer pays less than the amount due on any given occasion to the worker and includes a failure to make any payment.

 

Applying the Law to Facts Found

 

8.       The Tribunal is satisfied that the respondent has failed to pay the claimant wages due to him for the last three weeks worked prior to termination of his employment, that the respondent has made an unauthorised deduction from the claimant’s wages and that the claimant is entitled to £533.28 in respect of unpaid wages.

 

Conclusion

 

9.       The Tribunal orders the respondent to pay the claimant £533.28 in respect of unpaid wages due to him by the respondent for work done.

 

10.     This is a relevant decision for the purposes of the Industrial Tribunals (Interest) Order (Northern Ireland) 1990.

 

Chairman:

 

 

Date and place of hearing:  26 January 2010, Belfast.

 

 

Date decision recorded in register and issued to parties: