An Employment Tribunal has ruled that a law firm was not entitled to deduct money from one of its consultant solicitors because it was unhappy with his work.

Consultant Alastair Dobbie claimed deductions were made by law firm Feltons, relating to the work he was doing for five clients. According to Feltons, Dobbie repeatedly made mistakes, including in issuing High Court proceedings. Founder Paula Felton claimed she had to spend time correcting his errors herself.

However, in giving her verdict, Judge Elliott said:

“If a worker or employee performs below standard, the employer has options it can take. This is either to performance manage the worker, or to terminate the contract subject to the legal requirements that apply to that situation. The remedy is not to make deductions from pay and this is the purpose of section 13 [of the] Employment Rights Act.”

A critical part of managing employees is ensuring that their performance, attitude and conduct is aligned with organisational standards and values. Where this goes ‘off track’ and informal discussions do not achieve the required changes, a formal procedure may need to be invoked.

The judge found that there was no provision in the consultancy agreement for the firm to claw back payments if it considered his work to be sub-standard.

As such Elliott continued:

“Feltons acknowledges that the claimant did the work but says it was not of any value. The deduction of his pay is, and was, not an available option in those circumstances. The claimant is a solicitor and understands the importance of a written record of an agreement, particularly one that is as important to him as his pay. It was a simple enough matter.”