Claimant v McCurrach UK Ltd

The respondent made an unlawful deduction of £295 from the claimant's August wages. Although the contract permitted deductions for fines, the respondent's own policy required that employees be informed in advance. The claimant was not informed before the August pay run that sums would be deducted, and did not receive a payslip until after termination. Further deductions from bonus payments were lawful as proper notice was given.

The tribunal found no evidence that the claimant was subjected to more scrutiny than comparators, was denied support or training, or was treated differently regarding uniform. The decision not to extend his contract was because the person he was covering was returning from secondment, not because of his race. The comparators had materially different circumstances.

The tribunal accepted that the manager asked whether the claimant's attackers (not the claimant himself) were part of a gang following a serious stabbing incident involving a gun. This was a reasonable question showing concern for the claimant and was not related to race or racial stereotyping.

The tribunal did not accept that the claimant had done a protected act. He did not allege discriminatory treatment to his manager during any conversation, and his emails did not suggest he had raised allegations of discrimination. The first time he alleged discrimination was in his grievance email of 6 September 2024, which was after his contract had already been terminated.