A tribunal has awarded Benjamin Mendy, a former Manchester City defender, the majority of the unpaid wages amounting to PS11 million. This was after he had been suspended by the Football Association while facing criminal charges.
Last month, KC barristers represented both the French footballer’s former club and himself in a two-day video hearing held at Manchester Employment Tribunal.
In her decision, Employment Judge Joanne Dunlop stated: “I do not believe that so much legal expertise or effort has ever been expended on the prosecution and defense of a wage claim brought by one claimant.”
“But I am also pretty sure that no one else has ever claimed that amounts in the region PS11 million were deducted from their wages.”
Mendy was the most expensive defender in the world when he joined Man City, but the Premier League refused to pay him his salary of PS6 million for almost two years following charges of rape and attempt rape.
Mendy, who was accused of serious sexual offenses in August 2021 by the police, was placed under house arrest. Man City informed Mendy that it would no longer pay his wages at the end of September. This situation continued until the contract ended at the end June 2023. He then transferred to FC Lorient in France.
Mendy’s claim includes two periods of remandment in custody, one from 1 September to 7 January, 2022, and another from 30 December to 17 January, 2023. He was also prevented from meeting his contractual obligations outside of these times by his FA suspension, as well as his bail conditions.
Mendy was 23 when he joined Man City. The tribunal concluded that Mendy had developed a taste “for partying”, an euphemistic word which included frequent casual sexual encounters, many of them with women he’d just met.
Mendy seized numerous parties in 2020 for violating the Covid lockdown policies that were in place at the time.
First arrested in November of 2020, after a woman claimed he had raped her just a few short weeks before. He was arrested in January 2021, after a woman accused him of sexually abusing her during a party held at his house.
The 30-year old was cleared of all charges.
Binary Choice
Nick de Marco KC was Mendy’s lawyer. He told the tribunal that his contract did not permit deductions or a stoppage of his pay. The contract gave Man City a choice. They could either follow their dismissal procedures, which would have resulted in Mendy being dismissed, and free him to sign with another club, or they could keep him on contract, continue to pay him, but not deduct from his salary.
He refused to pay him and claimed that there was no legal way to keep him on contract.
Sean Jones KC of Man City argued that an implied clause may allow the employer to stop payment “in such circumstances”.
He argued that Mendy’s arrest, the suspension by the FA and the bail conditions he was subjected to during the relevant period all amounted in a clear way to an impediment in Mendy’s ability to fulfill his contract.
Both sides argued whether Mendy should be paid.
Mendy claims that he was an innocent man who had his career and life destroyed by false sexual accusations, and that the club abandoned him when he needed it most.
Man City believes that Mendy brought on his own troubles by ignoring sensible advice, and heeding “warnings after warnings” as he pursued his lifestyle of partying. The court ruled that both narratives were valid and there was no single cause for the events in this case.
The judge stated: “The only thing I’m concerned about is whether Manchester City has the legal right to refuse that payment.”
Ready and willing
The judge ruled that Mendy, who was “ready and eager” to work in the non-custody period was hindered by unavoidable impediments such as the FA suspension and bail requirements.
The judge said that “in those circumstances” and without any authorization in the contract authorizing the employer to withhold payment, he had a right to be paid.
In contrast, during his incarceration, his inability of performing the contract was partly due to his own fault for breaching the bail conditions. In this case, the judge ruled that Man City had a right to withhold his salary.
Mendy, in a press release, thanked his attorneys and said that he was “delighted” with the outcome. He added: “I hope the club does the right thing and pays the outstanding amounts as well as all the other amounts promised under my contract without further delay so I can put this difficult time of my life to rest.”
Mendy is entitled to receive unpaid wages of approximately PS8.5million, based on the judgement. The judge wrote to both parties, urging them to act quickly to settle the debt.
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