Manchester City Footballer Awarded £11 Million in Successful Unlawful Deduction from Wages Claim

November 19, 2024

By Harriette Loveluck-Edwards

The recently published Employment Tribunal case is a stark reminder to employers to ensure contracts of employment are tightly drafted to avoid the risk of a costly Tribunal claim for unpaid wages.

Our employment law solicitor Harriette examines the case and look at the lessons to be learned.

The background

Footballer Benjamin Mendy was subject to a ban preventing him from taking part in any football related activity by the Football Association (FA) for a period of almost two years whilst he was facing criminal charges. Manchester City informed Mendy that he would not receive payment of his wages unless and until he was ready and able to perform his duties.

Mendy was remanded in custody for two periods during the claim. During this time, Manchester City argued he was not able to “perform the contract” as a result, in part, of his own actions in breaching his bail conditions.

During the time when he was not in custody, it was his suspension by the FA – rather than his imprisonment – which prevented him from carrying out his contractual obligations which included training and playing football. However, the club decided that he was still not able to perform his duties under the contract and wouldn’t be paid.

Mendy was ultimately cleared of the charges and sought payment of his wages of around £11 million in back pay from Manchester City.

The claim

Mendy brought an Employment Tribunal claim for “unlawful deduction from wages”. His argument was that although he was not able to perform the contract while in prison, he was “ready and willing to work” during the non-custody periods, and was prevented from doing so by barriers which were unavoidable on his part (i.e. his suspension by the FA).

The Tribunal’s decision

The Employment Tribunal found that in order for Manchester City to withhold Mendy’s pay, his contract of employment needed to contain an express clause authorising the club to do so, and there was no such term in his contract.

As a result, the Employment Tribunal found that Manchester City was in breach of contract for the periods Mendy was not in custody and was ready and willing to work, and Mendy was entitled to be paid most of what he was claiming in back pay (with the exact amount still to be calculated by the Tribunal in a later hearing).

Manchester City was, however, entitled to withhold pay during the periods Mendy was in custody and was unable to perform his duties.

Lessons for employers

The lessons employers can learn from this case are:

• Deductions can only be made from an employee’s wages where they are authorised:

1. by legislation;
2. under the employee’s contract of employment; or
3. where the employee has given prior written consent.

• The employee’s contract of employment therefore needs to be carefully drafted to ensure that wages can lawfully be withheld where the employee is unable to carry out their duties
• If in doubt about whether a deduction from wages can legally be made, it’s vital to seek legal advice to avoid having to defend an Employment Tribunal claim if you get it wrong

If you need advice on an employment contract query or are facing an Employment Tribunal claim, or if you need your contracts of employment to be reviewed and updated to ensure they’re watertight, contact Harriette Loveluck-Edwards on 029 2002 8739 or hloveluck-edwards@darwingray.com today.