THE INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNALS

CASE REF:	1172/14

CLAIMANT:			Eamonn Downey 

RESPONDENT:		Queen’s Quay Social t/a Quay Social Limited

DECISION
The decision of the tribunal is set out at Paragraph 4. below.  

Constitution of Tribunal:
Employment Judge (sitting alone):	Employment Judge D Buchanan
Appearances:
The claimant, Mr Downey, appeared in person and was not represented.
The respondent company did not enter an appearance.

1.	At the outset of the hearing I dismissed the second-named respondent, Darren Iddon, from the proceedings.  He was a director of the above-named respondent company, which was the claimant’s employer.  He was therefore not properly a party to these proceedings.

2.	The claimant was employed as a chef by the respondent company from 1 August 2013 until 2 June 2014.

He turned up for work at the beginning of June to find the restaurant closed.  The owner had disappeared, leaving him unpaid and owing him various sums.

3.	I am satisfied from the uncontradicted evidence of the claimant, who I found to be an honest witness, that the following sums are due to him:-

		(i)	unpaid holiday pay of £1,477;

		(ii)	unpaid notice pay of £1,250;

(iii)	unlawful deductions from his wages (non-payment of his wages for May 2014) of £1250; and

		(iv)	cumulative unpaid overtime payments of £12,683.

In respect of the unpaid overtime I am satisfied that the claimant was working 90 hours per week, that he continued to work after initial non-payment of overtime because he needed the work and he accepted, perhaps naively, as made in good faith, ongoing promises that payment owing would be made in due course.

4.	I order that the respondent company do pay to the claimant the aggregate of the sums made up at Paragraph 3. above, that is to say £16,660.

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

Employment Judge

Date and place of hearing:	9 September 2014, Belfast

Date decision recorded in register and issued to parties: