Industrial Tribunals Northern Ireland Decisions

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URL: http://www.bailii.org/nie/cases/NIIT/2011/1106_11IT.html
Cite as: [2011] NIIT 01106_11IT, [2011] NIIT 1106_11IT

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THE INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNALS

CASE REF: 1106/11

CLAIMANT: Michael Flanagan

RESPONDENT: Martina McFeely and John McFeely

t/a Hillcrest Metal Partitions

DECISION

The respondents are liable to pay the claimant the sum of £5,026.03 in respect of unpaid wages and notice pay for the period from December 2010 to February 2011 and I order the respondents to pay this sum to the claimant.

Constitution of Tribunal:

Chairman (Sitting alone): Miss E McCaffrey

Appearances:

The claimant appeared in person.

No response was lodged to the claim and the respondents did not appear.

The Issue

1. The issue for me to decide was whether the claimant was entitled to unpaid wages as claimed by him and notice pay when he was dismissed in February 2011.

The Facts

2. The claimant was employed by the respondents as an accountant initially from February 2005 until July 2007. He then resumed work in February 2008 and his employment was terminated in February 2011. The claimant clarified that he had worked for the respondents as an accountant and that the firm was actually a partnership between Martina McFeely and John McFeely and not a limited company. I therefore direct that the name of the respondent shall be amended to Martina McFeely and John McFeely t/a Hillcrest Metal Partitions.

3. The claimant described how he had worked for the respondents as their company accountant for some time. He also expressed the difficulties the company had experienced and the fact that the respondents had been threatened with court proceedings by their creditors. He said however that he was not clear as to whether the respondents had formally become insolvent and so I decided to proceed with this hearing.

4. The claimant indicated that his relationship with the respondents and in particular with a new general manager who had been retained, deteriorated in late 2010 and early 2011, particularly as the claimant was not paid for his work in late 2010. The claimant had agreed to work reduced hours and take a cut in salary in late 2009 after which his gross pay was £2,500.00 per month and his net pay was £1,884.94 per month.

5. However in October 2010 the claimant received only £1,000.00 which was paid in November 2010 and the remainder of his wages were paid belatedly on 3 December 2010. The claimant advised that he had eventually received what he was owed in wages for October and November but was still owed a balance of £884.94 on his wages for December 2010. In January 2011 he received only £1,000.00 for the preceding December’s wages . He did not receive any wages for January 2011 or for February 2011.

6. There had been a difference of opinion between the claimant and John McFeely regarding work to be done. Mr McFeely had been unhappy at the work done by the claimant. The claimant pointed out that he was being expected to work long hours and produce accounts in a different format. On 11 February Mr McFeely put the claimant on notice of termination of his employment. At that stage the claimant said that he had had enough and expressed his frustration about the way he had been treated. He asked if that meant that he didn’t have to stay and Mr McFeely said he didn’t, so the claimant left.

7. The claimant received a P45 which gave his date of termination of employment as 21 February 2011, but he was not paid to this date and was not given full notice of his termination of employment, which should have been three weeks.

8. The claimant advised that there had been no written Contract of Employment and that in addition he had used his own credit card as a payment of £800.00 for goods for the company.

9. On the basis of the evidence given by the claimant in relation to this matter and having perused the bank statements which he provided to me, I find that the respondents owe the claimant unpaid wages in the following amounts:-

	Unpaid wages for December 2010:	£884.94

	Wages for January 2011:	£1,884.94

	Wages to 21 February 2011:	£1,313.69

	Unpaid notice pay (21 February 2011 - 4 March 2011) (2 working weeks):	£942.46


	TOTAL:	£5,026.03

10. The claimant confirmed that he had sent an email to the respondents on 20 March 2011 seeking his unpaid wages and the money which he had lent to the company and I therefore find that he had raised the appropriate grievance.

The relevant law

11. The relevant law is to be found in Article 45 of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 under which an employee is entitled to receive “unauthorised deductions” from wages. The claimant did not authorise any deduction from these wages, he raised a grievance about this matter and lodged his claim within three months of the last of the series of deductions being made and I therefore find that his claim was lodged in time.

It is also well established that if an employee is dismissed without being given the appropriate notice under Article 188 of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, then the employee is entitled to payment in lieu of notice.

Decision

12. I accept the claimant’s evidence that he is entitled to payment of his unpaid wages and further that he is entitled to payment in lieu of notice given that he was dismissed on 11 February 2011 but his P45 was issued with effect from 21 February 2011.

I order the respondents to pay to the claimant the sum of £5,026.03 in respect of unpaid wages.

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

Chairman:

Date and place of hearing: 2 August 2011, Londonderry.

Date decision recorded in register and issued to parties:

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