Mr R Odondi v Furness Engineering and Technology Ltd: 6015616/2025
JUDGMENT
The claim for unlawful deduction from wages is unsuccessful and is dismissed. Approved by:REASONS
[1]The claimant worked for the respondent as a Senior Designer from 13 March 2017 until 21 February 2025.[2]On 14 March 2025 the claimant began ACAS Early Conciliation. On 24 April 2025 the claimant received the Early Conciliation Certificate. On 30 April 2025 the claimant submitted the ET1 form. The claimant complained of unauthorised deduction from wages contrary to section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.[3]On 25 June 2025 the respondent submitted an ET3 response. The respondent denied any unauthorised deduction from wages and sought to bring an employers contract claim in accordance with the Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction (England and Wales) Order 1994.[4]At the outset of the final hearing the respondent withdrew the employers contract claim, claim number 6025008/2025, on the basis that it could not be pursued in the jurisdiction of the Employment Tribunal because the claimant had not brought a breach of contract complaint. The employers contract claim has not been dismissed because the respondent intends to pursue any outstanding monies owed in the County Court. Case Number: 6015616/2025Evidence
[5]The Tribunal was provided with a file of documents which ran to 281 pages. The claimant and the Managing Director for the respondent also provided witness statements and gave evidence during the course of the final hearing.Issues
[6]Did the respondent make an unauthorised deduction of £1900 from the claimant’s wages?[7]Were the wages paid to the claimant less than the wages they should have been paid?[8]Was any deduction required or authorised by statute?[9]Was any deduction required or authorised by a written term of the contract?[10]Did the claimant have a copy of the contract or written notice of the contract term before the deduction was made?[11]Did the claimant agree in writing to the deduction before it was made?[12]How much is the claimant owed? Relevant Findings of Fact[13]The respondent sponsored the claimant’s study during the course of the claimant’s employment.[14]On 24 August 2020 the claimant informed the respondent that he was enrolling in B.Eng (Hons) Degree in Electrical Engineering. The course start date was given as 10 September 2020.[15]The duration of the ordinary and honours degree was stipulated as “4 years”.[16]On 28 August 2020 the claimant signed a Learning Agreement with the respondent for the “B.Eng(Hons) Electrical Engineering Course. The commencement of the course date was recorded as “September 2020 (Year 1)”. The cost of the course was recorded as “£3,300”.[17]The claimant agreed to repay the course fees if he left the respondent’s employment within two years of completion of the sponsored course on a pro rata basis dependent on the duration of time that had elapsed after completion of the course.[18]The claimant also agreed to the following statement: “I further agree that any sums owing to the Company will be repaid in full prior to my leaving employment and I hereby authorise that any outstanding salary due to me on termination of employment is to be used, in whole or in part, towards this repayment.” Case Number: 6015616/2025[19]On 18 August 2021 the claimant signed the same agreement. The only difference between the two agreements was that the commencement of the course was recorded as “September 2021 (Year 2)”. The cost of the course remained at £3,300.[20]On 20 October 2022 the claimant signed the same agreement. The only difference was that the commencement of the course was recorded as “September 2022 (Year 3)”. The cost of the course had increased to £4,999.50.[21]On 11 September 2023 the claimant signed the same agreement. The commencement of the course was recorded as “September 2023 (Year 4)”. The cost of the course had decreased to £1742.[22]The claimant obtained his bachelor’s in engineering (ordinary) degree in 2022. The claimant obtained his bachelor’s in engineering (honours) degree in July 2024.[23]The claimant resigned from his role on 27 January 2025 and provided one months notice.[24]On 4 February 2025 the respondent wrote to the claimant and accepted the claimant’s resignation and informed the claimant that his last day of employment would be 21 February 2025.[25]The respondent also informed the claimant that as a result of entering into Learning Agreements in September 2022 and September 2023, the claimant was required to repay £2692.10 in course fees.[26]The claimant was also informed that he was required to repay the bonus of £617.09 that had been paid to the claimant in November 2024.[27]The respondent proposed to deduct £3309.19 from the claimant’s final salary payment. The respondent also suggested that the claimant could repay the amount in installments subject to agreeing a payment plan with the respondent.[28]On 6 February 2025, the claimant agreed a payment plan with the respondent of a payment of £1309.90 from his final salary payment followed by 4 monthly installments of £500.[29]On 6 February 2025 the respondent wrote again to the claimant accepting the claimant’s resignation. In an amended letter the respondent informed the claimant that as a result of entering into Learning Agreements in August 2020, August 2021, September 2022 and September 2023 the claimant was required to repay £9450.23 in course fees and the bonus of £617.09.[30]The respondent proposed deducting the amount from the claimant’s final salary but also suggested that it would be agreeable to a payment plan.[31]The claimant disputed that he owed £9450.23 in course fees. The claimant asserted that his degree qualification was covered by two separate courses Case Number: 6015616/2025 – the ordinary degree course which the claimant started in 2020 and completed in 2022 and the honours degree course which the claimant started in 2022 and completed in 2024, and the original figure included in the letter of 4 February 2025 was correct.[32]The respondent disagreed and asserted that the claimant’s degree qualification had been obtained following completion of a four year course which started in 2020. It was the respondent’s position that the claimant had resigned within two years of completing this course and therefore the respondent was entitled to recover the course fees for all four years.[33]On 19 February 2025 the claimant raised a grievance. On 20 February 2025 the claimant attended a grievance meeting. On 24 February 2025 the claimant’s grievance was rejected. On 26 February 2025 the claimant appealed the grievance outcome.[34]On 28 February 2025 the respondent deducted £1900 from the claimant’s final salary for “training fees repaid on resign”.[35]On 6 March 2025 the claimant attended the grievance appeal meeting. On 11 March 2025 the claimant’s grievance appeal was rejected.[36]On 20 April 2025 the claimant repaid the bonus of £617.09. Relevant legal principles[37]The unauthorised deduction from wages claim was brought under Part II of the Employment Rights Act 1996. Section 13(1) confers the right not to suffer unauthorised deductions unless: “(a) The deduction is required or authorised to be made by virtue of a statutory provision or a relevant provision in the worker’s contract; or (b) The worker has previously signified in writing his agreement or consent to the making of the deduction.”[38]A relevant provision in the worker’s contract is defined by section 13(2) as: “(a) One or more written contractual terms of which the employer has given the worker a copy of on an occasion prior to the employer making the deduction in question; or (b) In one or more terms of the contract, (whether express or implied) and, if express, whether oral or in writing, the existence and effect, or combined effect, of which in relation to the worker the employer has notified the worker in writing on such an occasion.”[39]A deduction is defined by section 13(3) as follows: “(3) Where the total amount of wages paid on any occasion by an employer to a worker employed by him is less than the total amount of the wages properly Case Number: 6015616/2025 payable by him to the worker on that occasion (after deductions), the amount of the deficiency shall be treated for the purposes of this part as a deduction made by the employer from the worker’s wages on that occasion.”[40]Section 27 defines wages, which includes: “(a) Any fee, bonus, commission, holiday pay or other emolument referable to his employment, whether payable under his contract or otherwise.”[41]Section 24 provides that: “Where any complaint under section 23 is well-founded the Tribunal can make an order that the employer pay to the worker the amount of any deduction in contravention of section 13.”Discussion and conclusions
[42]In the ET1 form the claimant set out the complaint of unauthorised deduction from wages on the basis that the respondent had deducted £1900 from his final salary before the dispute as to the value of the repayment owed by the claimant had been agreed.[43]During the course of the final hearing, whilst under oath, the claimant accepted that the respondent was entitled to deduct £1900 from his final salary in accordance with the terms of the Learning Agreements signed by the claimant.[44]The claimant also accepted that he owed the respondent a further £175.01 in accordance with the terms of the Learning Agreements signed by the claimant. The claimant agreed to pay this amount to the respondent at the conclusion of the final hearing.[45]The claimant admitted that he had signed the Learning Agreements and understood the nature of the repayment clause should he leave the respondent’s employment within two years of completion of a course.[46]The Tribunal therefore determined that the claimant had “previously signified in writing his agreement or consent to the making of the deduction”.[47]The Tribunal also determined that on receipt of his final salary the claimant had received wages properly payable to him after deductions – including the deduction of £1900.[48]As a result of the claimant’s admissions under oath, and the determinations of the Tribunal, the complaint of unauthorised deduction from wages is unsuccessful and is dismissed.[49]This Tribunal has not made any factual findings about the interpretation of the Learning Agreements signed by the claimant. It was not necessary to make such findings after the claimant’s admissions under oath.[50]The respondent has withdrawn the employer’s contract claim. However, the respondent has specifically not sought dismissal of that claim on the basis that the respondent intends to pursue that claim through the County Case Number: 6015616/2025 Court. The interpretation of the Learning Agreements and the question of whether the claimant is required to repay any further amounts to the respondent will be determined in those proceedings. Approved by: