A MALVERN businessman has been ordered to pay a former employee more than £1,500 by a tribunal judge.

Kelly Smith, of Pickersleigh Road, made compensation claims for unfair dismissal and unpaid wages against Chad Theakston, of Upper Howsell Road.

Mr Theakston had employed Miss Smith as a manager and assistant at a laundry in St Johns, Worcester, for seven months, the Birmingham tribunal heard.

Miss Smith said she was dismissed after constantly asking for pay slips, to which she was legally entitled. She also complained she was not given written terms of employment.

She said she tried to keep her own record of what she should have earned, but discovered she had been underpaid. She enlisted the help of the Malvern Citizens Advice Bureau in bringing her claims to the tribunal.

Mr Theakston opposed the claims and said Miss Smith had been paid what she was entitled to. He said she had been off work sick and that he did not know when she was going to return.

“There were a number of factors involved,” said Mr Theakston, who paid Miss Smith £5.73 an hour.

Tribunal judge Bryn Lloyd described Miss Smith as intelligent and fluent and said her cause had been proved. He awarded her £1,677, which included unpaid wages plus an award for breaches of the Employment Rights Act.

He also criticised Mr Theakston for not providing payslips.

“No employer should allow an employee to rely on her own personal records to keep track of her wages,” he said.

Mr Lloyd rejected Miss Smith’s compensation claim for unfair dismissal on a legal technicality.