Seven workers who were subject to an ’atmosphere for intimidation’ at a care company have been awarded a total of just under £14,000 by an employment tribunal.

Chaired by Douglas Stewart, the tribunal heard evidence against Smiley’s People Limited and its owner Peter Heselwood.

The former employees, Tarran Losh, Kerry Christian, Sandra Morrel-Willis, Eileen Organ, Donna Richardson and Valerie Roberts were seeking damages for unlawful deductions from their salaries. Dawn Taylor also successfully claimed for failure to provide any terms and conditions of employment.

Throughout the tribunals, Mr Stewart also heard evidence from Catriona Bradley, head of registration and inspection unit of the DHSC. However, as the respondent Mr Heselwood did not respond in due time he was ’not entitled to take any part in the proceedings’.

In his reports, Mr Stewart said that the company Smiley’s People Ltd, based in Castletown, is run by Mr Heselwood and it previously operated under the name of Wise Care Ltd.

The tribunal also heard from Martina Taylor who won her tribunal against Mr Heselwood in 2018 when the company was operating as Wise Care Ltd.

She said that she had faced unfounded allegations of theft and forgery and that following her complaint to the police, he had made an unfounded allegation to the police of harassment by her.

Mr Heselwood had not honoured that award and, in the opinion of Mr Stewart, had taken ’deliberate steps to avoid liability’. Most of her money was received via a benevolent fund.

Her evidence was said to be of ’significant value’ to the tribunal by Mr Stewart ’given the consistent evidence in documents and from oral evidence, of the way that these seven complainants had been mistreated, lied to, bullied and been subjected to groundless smears of alleged theft or other misconduct’.

Mr Stewart said that since Mr Heselwood was found responsible in the previous tribunal for unpaid wages he ’has continued a policy of receiving fees for services provided by his employees by not paying them’.

He added: ’In addition, he has continued with an atmosphere of intimidation, causing illness among some of the complainants and stress and financial hardship among all of them.

’This was a concerted policy and inexcusable to all seven complainants. Their evidence was that despite non-payment, their concern for the welfare of persons who had placed their trust in the respondent, meant that they had worked unpaid until the position proved intolerable.’

The tribunal reports say that when he was told all seven claimants would be attending and their claims would be heard at the same, Mr Heselwood emailed the clerk to say: ’I am happy that all claimants will be there on the same day and time as the in (sic) going investigation into death threats means arrests may be made and this makes it easier.’

Mr Stewart said this ’type of unfounded and menacing message was typical of the way that Mr Heselwood has operated’.

The claimants were awarded figures ranging from £690.80 to £3,162.74, amounting to a total of £13,815.62.