Claimant v Circle Express Limited
Outcome
Individual claims
The tribunal found that the respondent made unlawful deductions from both claimants' wages between November 2023 and May 2024. For Mr Deep, deductions totalled £4,433.40 including recoupment of alleged overpaid leave that exceeded his actual entitlement, unpaid Class 1 driver supplement, and reductions from unilaterally imposed contract changes. For Mrs Deep, deductions totalled £8,839.73 including similar issues plus 10 days of accrued annual leave that had not been paid. The respondent failed to properly account for carried-over leave from 2022, statutory bank holidays, and leave approved by local managers. The unilateral contract changes in February 2024, which neither claimant accepted, resulted in ongoing wage reductions that were unlawful deductions.
Facts
Mr and Mrs Deep were employed as Class 2 drivers on 4 on/4 off shift patterns at £36,000 per annum. With local manager approval, they worked different patterns to accommodate family care. In late 2023, HR discovered discrepancies in the leave recording system (Morepay) where managers had approved leave on non-rostered days entered as '0', which the system treated as paid leave without deducting from entitlement. In January-February 2024, the respondent deducted 15 days' pay from Mr Deep and 11 days from Mrs Deep to recoup alleged overpayments. In February 2024, the respondent unilaterally changed their contracts to reduce working days and pay. The claimants qualified as Class 1 drivers in November 2023 but were not paid the supplement until later (Mr Deep in February 2024, Mrs Deep not at all for December 2023-January 2024).
Decision
The tribunal found the deductions unlawful. The respondent failed to account for leave carried over from 2022 with manager approval (2 days for Mr Deep, 8 days for Mrs Deep), 9 statutory bank holidays in 2023, and leave approved by managers on non-rostered days. The maximum deductible for Mr Deep was 5 days, not 15. Mrs Deep had 10 days of outstanding annual leave entitlement and was owed payment. The unilateral contract changes in February 2024 constituted ongoing unlawful deductions. Mr Deep was awarded £4,433.40 and Mrs Deep £8,839.73 (both gross, including 25% ACAS uplift).
Practical note
Employers cannot unilaterally recoup alleged wage overpayments without proper contractual authorization, and must account for all elements of annual leave entitlement including carried-over leave and statutory holidays when calculating any alleged overpayment; unilateral contract variations that reduce pay constitute unlawful deductions.
Award breakdown
Award equivalent: 19.2 weeks' gross pay
Adjustments
Respondent failed to consult with the claimants on deduction of their pay and properly deal with the grievance process and subsequent appeal. 25% uplift applied to all awards.
Legal authorities cited
Statutes
Case details
- Case number
- 3305164/2024
- Decision date
- 26 July 2025
- Hearing type
- full merits
- Hearing days
- 2
- Classification
- contested
Respondent
- Sector
- logistics
- Represented
- Yes
- Rep type
- lay rep
Employment details
- Role
- Class 2 driver / C2 driver
- Salary band
- £30,000–£40,000
Claimant representation
- Represented
- No