FOUR people have had claims of unpaid wages dismissed against the Anglesey scuba diving company which employed them.
Kathryn Brass and Jack Johnson worked as dive centre assistants, and Thomas Buckley and Lukas Stevenson as scuba diving instructors, for Duttons Divers Ltd in Llangefni, who applied to be struck off in December.
Ms Brass and Mr Buckley claimed they worked more hours than those for which they were paid in their final payslips; Mr Johnson and Mr Stevenson, meanwhile, claimed they worked more hours than they were paid throughout their employment.
A tribunal in Cardiff found that Ms Brass’ payslip for July 2023, her final month of employment, was for £191.80, reflective of 22 hours’ work at a rate of £10.90 per hour.
According to Blip, the company’s electronic payslip system, this was correct, but during the tribunal, she said she felt she had worked 41.5 hours that month.
It was accepted that on the occasions employees could not access Blip, it was possible to rectify that by informing company director, Clare Dutton (who was expelled from the Professional Association of Diving Instructors in December 2023).
Though, Employment Judge Williams, chairing the tribunal, found there was “no evidence before me that Ms Brass attempted to do so on those dates in July”, and dismissed her claim.
Mr Johnson provided a list of dates on which he claimed he worked but was not paid, with reference to Blip transcripts, throughout April, May, June and July 2023.
But again, the judge found no evidence that he attempted to rectify the Blip records, so also dismissed his claim.
Mr Buckley said his final payslip for August 2023, of £228.34, was correct, but that the money was never received – indeed, it never appeared on his bank statement.
But the judge said: “However, I am satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the respondent did make the payment, as shown on the ‘Payment Instruction Confirmation’.
“I am therefore unable to find that he was paid less than was properly payable and the claim is dismissed.”
Mr Stevenson said he received £1,673.37 from the company throughout his employment, despite his P45 stating he was paid £2,935.54.
But he did not provide the tribunal with a breakdown of the dates and hours for which he worked but was not paid.
He referred in his evidence, to correspondence between him, the company and his solicitor on WhatsApp, emails and Facebook relating to unpaid wages, but did not provide any of this to the tribunal.
Employment Judge Williams, found that Mr Stevenson’s payslips for the months “appear to accord broadly with the Blip transcripts for the same months”, and felt his claim was “based entirely upon his P45”.
Dismissing the claim, the judge said: “Whilst there does appear to be an inconsistency in the actual amount paid and the amount reported to HMRC as having been paid, this does not necessarily lead to the automatic conclusion that Mr Stevenson was not paid what was properly payable for the work done.”
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