Unlawful deduction of wages

Case 3: The facts

Mr Atchoe was employed for 16 years as a maintenance fitter, responsible for ensuring that equipment was safe. He was required to be on call out-of-hours; for this he was paid a standby payment whether or not he was called out, plus an additional payment if he was called out.

Atchoe had twice produced certificates proving that he was qualified - first on his appointment, and again several years later. When his employer asked to see his certificate once more, he refused; he was then taken off the on-call rota and no longer received the on-call allowances. He claimed that this was an unlawful deduction of wages.

The ruling

The Employment Appeal Tribunal held that Atchoe was only entitled to on-call payments when he was on the on-call rota. As he no longer had the right to be paid once he was removed from that rota, there was no unlawful deduction of wages and no breach of contract.

Camden Primary Care Trust v Atchoe EAT/0172/06