A Papa Johns store manager has won an employment tribunal after being dismissed for insisting his employer paid his tax contributions to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and provided him with genuine payslips.
Ashwani Kumar, who worked at an independently operated Papa Johns franchise in Harlow, Essex, was dismissed after refusing to accept cash-in-hand wages and demanding that income tax and National Insurance contributions were properly deducted and paid to HMRC.
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An employment tribunal found the franchise owners, EEM London, EEM Holdings and owner Abdul Sattar Askar, had provided Mr Kumar with fraudulent payslips while failing to pay the deducted tax and National Insurance contributions to HMRC.
The tribunal ruled that Mr Kumar had been automatically unfairly dismissed and found in his favour on all claims.
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Mr Kumar joined the Essex branch in February 2023, when he was asked to accept cash payments instead of formal wages.
He refused and insisted that tax and National Insurance contributions were deducted correctly and paid to the relevant authorities.
While employers are permitted to pay staff in cash under UK law, the arrangement must be agreed before employment begins and any income must still be declared to HMRC.
The tribunal heard that although Mr Kumar was issued with payslips that appeared genuine, he later contacted HMRC and discovered they were fraudulent because the tax and National Insurance contributions shown as deducted had not been paid to the tax authority.
The dispute came to a head in January 2025 when Mr Kumar returned from a period of leave and was told there was no longer any work available for him at the Harlow store.
His employer offered him a role at another restaurant on the condition that he accepted cash-in-hand payments. Mr Kumar refused.
Police were later called to remove Mr Kumar from the Harlow premises after he declined to leave the store following the termination of his employment.
The tribunal also heard that Mr Kumar was not allowed to take paid annual leave during his employment.
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Employment judge Julia Jone ruled the reason for Mr Kumar’s dismissal “was his insistence on being given itemised payslips, having his tax and National Insurance deducted and shown on his payslip and being paid for holidays and having the right to take holidays”.
The tribunal concluded that those circumstances meant Mr Kumar had been automatically unfairly dismissed and was entitled to compensation.
The franchise owners, EEM London, EEM Holdings and Mr Askar, were found liable for the unfair dismissal, unlawful deductions from wages and failing to provide statutory holiday pay.
A Papa Johns spokesman said: “The matter concerns an independently owned and operated franchise, and we understand the respondents intend to challenge the judgment.
“As the matter remains subject to ongoing legal proceedings, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”
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