An employer's reasonable (but wrong) belief that a worker is working illegally is no defence to an illegal deduction from wages claim | |||
Okuoimose v City Facilities Management (UK) Ltd [2011] UKEAT 0192_11_1309 | |||
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31/10/2011
In Okuoimose v City Facilities HHJ Judge McMullen QC has ruled that it is no defence to a worker's claim for illegal deduction from pay for the employer to argue that he thought the worker was working illegally. The relevant question was not whether the contract was believed to be illegal but whether it was in fact illegal. If pay was deducted on a wrong assumption of illegality then the contract with the worker had been broken and s. 13(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 had been contravened. In this case the worker was married to a national of the European Economic Area and was consequently entitled to live and work in the UK despite not being able to prove this during the relevant period owing to an expired passport stamp (The employer suspended the worker's pay until a letter was received from the UK Border Agency). The employment judge had ruled that the contract was illegal and unenforceable whilst the situation was being clarified but the EAT has overturned this decision. The EAt ruled that the claimant was entitled to work in the UK at all times irrespective of what appeared in the claimant's passport and the contract was therefore legal during the relevant period. With the contract being valid, the employer's suspension of pay was therefore contravening the ERA and the worker's rights to be paid. The employer's argument that he was behaving reasonably and that he was afraid of the consequences for himself should he have been found to have someone working illegally for him was irrelevant. He had contravened the ERA and the claimant's rights had been infringed and the worker's claim had therefore to succeed. |
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| Transcript of the judgement:- Okuoimose v City Facilities Management (UK) Ltd [2011] UKEAT 0192_11_1309 |
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| 2011 Whistleblowers are not protected against victimisation by fellow workers - NHS Manchester v Fecitt & Ors [2011] EWCA Civ 1190 An employee sharing profits in the firm is not necessarily a partner - Williamson & Soden Solicitors v Briars EAT [2011] UKEAT/2011/0065_10_2705 Leaving a page out of the reasons for an EAT appeal was venial - Hine & Anor (t/a Hine Marketing Partnership) v Talbot & Ors [2011] UKEAT 1783_10_2706 In Equal Pay claims after a TUPE transfer, red circling will be accepted as constituting a genuine material factor defence - Scotland Co Ltd v Buchanan & Anor (Equal Pay Act : Material factor defence and justification) [2011] UKEAT 0042_10_2505 The Minimum wage did not apply to a worker sleeping over without duties to perform - Wray v JW Lees & Co (Brewers) Ltd (National Minimum Wage [2011] UKEAT 0102_11_1407 Requests to continue working after 65 must be considered in good faith - Compass Group Plc v Ayodele [2011] UKEAT 0484_10_1407 An autocratic style of management is no justification for breaching the contractual term of trust and confidence - McBride v Falkirk Football & Athletic Club [2011] UKEAT 0058_10_1706 Overtime payments in the absence of an agreement - Driver v Air India Ltd [2011] EWCA Civ 830 Mere suspicion that a representative was acting for profit was not enough for imposing wasted costs - Jackson v Cambridgeshire County Council & Ors (Practice and Procedure : Costs) [2011] UKEAT 0402_09_0806 |
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