Whitchurch firm loses appeal against £10,000 fine for wages it paid to staff

Nurse 365 Ltd of Shakespeare Way, which provides healthcare nursing assistants to care and nursing homes, appealed against the charge by HM Revenue and Customs at Birmingham Employment tribunal.

The firm told the tribunal that the Revenue and Customs calculations involving workers’ amounts and the penalty charge were incorrect.

The Revenue and Customs disagreed and said the eight workers had been paid a total of £5,238 less than they were entitled to. The tribunal was told that travel costs were deducted from some workers’ wages of 30p a mile by the firm providing transport in taking the workers to work.

The deductions had the effect of reducing the workers’ wages to below the national minimum wage, it was said.

The appellant’s position was that exception applied and the deduction did not have the effect of reducing the workers’ wages.

Other costs were also put forward by the firm towards supporting its appeal.

The tribunal was also told that the firm provided accommodation to workers who required it. This was a voluntary arrangement and was operated by the subletting of a three-bedroom flat to workers for £90 a week which was deducted from their pay.

Tribunal Judge Miller refused the firm’s appeal after saying that all the deductions had the effect of reducing the remuneration paid to the workers. The judge added there was no suggestion by the Revenue and Customs that the firm was engaged in any deliberate unscrupulous practices in the arrangements referred to in the judgment.

The tribunal had been told that Waclawa Falowska had £1,146 43p less than than the national minimum wage, Beverley Ainsworth was £30.26, Lwona Bucholc was £65.20, Adrian Cormosi was £740.05,Diana Corpadean was £907.77, Alexandru Guzun was £1,040.66, Laurentiu Nasaudean was £1,196.07p and Lucy Smith was £170.57.