Teacher's Unlawful Deduction Claim Partially Upheld by Employment Appeal Tribunal
A teacher's claim for unlawful wage deductions against The Kingsdale Foundation was partially successful at the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
• public
Teacher Awarded £902.67 After Pay Dispute Over School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document Changes
A teacher's claim for unlawful deductions from wages has seen a partial victory at the Employment Appeal Tribunal. The case, Adamu v The Kingsdale Foundation, centred on whether the school had correctly applied changes to the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) following a significant reform in 2013.
The appellant, Mr. Adamu, argued that he should have continued to be paid at the maximum rate of the former post-threshold pay scale, known as U3. However, the tribunal found that the STPCD reforms in 2013 fundamentally altered how teachers' pay within the upper range was determined. The new system primarily linked pay progression to performance, moving away from fixed pay points.
While the tribunal initially awarded Mr. Adamu £640.17, both parties later agreed this was a miscalculation. The Employment Appeal Tribunal confirmed that the correct shortfall, representing the amount paid below the minimum of the upper pay range during the claim period, was £902.67. The tribunal's judgment clarified that the school's contractual obligation was to pay at least the minimum of the upper pay range, unless performance assessments warranted a higher rate.
Crucially, the tribunal rejected the argument that Mr. Adamu was automatically entitled to the highest pay point simply because he had previously reached the U3 scale point before the STPCD changes. The pay scale reforms meant that previous pay points under the old system did not directly translate to a fixed entitlement under the new upper pay range.
The appeal tribunal noted that Mr. Adamu did not raise a complaint about the school's failure to conduct annual performance assessments, which would have been a separate issue. Therefore, the claim for unlawful deduction from wages was correctly focused on the actual wages paid compared to the legally entitled amount.
The appeal was allowed to the extent of correcting the award to £902.67. The school's cross-appeal was deemed unnecessary as a result.
Read the entire judgment here: Mr Adamu Thomas v The Kingsdale Foundation EAT 40
