Warning to company directors who can be personally liable for breaches of an employment contract…

A recent case in the High Court (Antuzis v DJ Houghton Catching Services Ltd) has resulted in the director and company secretary being found personally liable for the company’s breaches of contract. The employees had brought claims for breach of contract resulting from unpaid wages, unlawful deductions and fees and a failure to pay holiday pay.  They had been employed on a chicken farm working long hours and earning less than the minimum wage. The Court held that their claim was bound to succeed and found on a preliminary issue that the director and company secretary were both personally liable as they had both been fully aware of what had been going on  and that this amounted to a breach of the company’s contractual obligations to the employees.