Portsmouth pipe-fitter awarded £2,500 after being swindled by '˜parasitical' payroll companies

Russ Blakely, from North End, is celebrating after receiving £2,500 for unfair deductions and holiday from employment agency On-Site Recruitment Solutions Ltd.

It comes after the 57-year-old was charged a series of fees as he carried out four months of work at Broadmoor Hospital, in Berkshire, in 2016.

As previously reported in The News, he faced £18-a-week charges just to have his wages processed – and after 16 weeks was charged a whopping £324 in fees and £725.59 in employer NICs.

After taking his case to trade union Unite, an employment appeals tribunal found he was wrongly treated and deserved compensation in February in what has been dubbed a ‘precedent-setting’ case.

Having finally received his money, Mr Blakely said: ‘I hope my legal victory helps other workers get their full employment rights – without having to resort to legal action.’