Mishcon told to pay ex-commercial director £24k after tribunal loss

Mishcon de Reya has been ordered to pay a former commercial director nearly £24,000 after an employment tribunal found he was unfairly dismissed and underpaid during his time at the firm.

Paul Hemmings joined Mishcon in 2020 to help grow its cybersecurity business. He brought a claim for constructive unfair dismissal and unlawful deduction from wages after resigning in 2023.

Under his contract, Hemmings was entitled to a 3% quarterly commission on all work he brought in. But he told the tribunal at December’s hearing he had lost trust and confidence in the firm after it failed to pay him commissions owed for more than three years.

In a remedy judgment published last week, first reported by the Gazette, the London tribunal awarded Hemmings a total of £23,778.50.

That figure includes £1,998 for unlawful deductions from wages and £21,780.50 in compensation for unfair dismissal, covering lost commission and pension contributions for nearly a year.

The judge in the case criticised Mishcon’s handling of the matter, calling the firm "evasive" when dealing with Hemmings’ requests for more information to calculate the commissions owed to him, and describing its justification as "disingenuous".

Mishcon denied withholding information, saying it provided a breakdown of commission figures when asked.