Benjamin Mendy wins appeal with regards to unpaid wages by Manchester City on the backdrop of his sexual assault charges.
Benjamin Mendy wins his appeal after the judge rules in his favor for more than £11m in unpaid wages, after he was charged with and acquitted of sexual offences.
Last year, the France international sued City in an employment tribunal, claiming unpaid wages and interest from September 2021, when the club stopped paying him, until June 2023, when his contract expired.
In a witness statement, Mendy claimed that City had illegally withheld wages that he was entitled to under his contract, claiming that he had been assured he would get payment upon his clearance.
Because Mendy was detained pending trial for violating his bail terms, City’s attorneys said he was not paid because he “was not ready and able to perform his duties… as a consequence of his own conduct.”
In her decision, Dunlop stated that Mendy was detained for two periods, which accounted for roughly five months of the 22-month term of his claim and during which City had the right to withhold his salary.
A summary of the tribunal’s judgment stated: “The result of this decision is that Mr Mendy will be entitled to receive the majority of his unpaid salary, although not all of it.”
When Mendy was not in custody, Dunlop found, he was “ready and willing to work” and prevented from doing so by impediments such as his suspension by the Football Association and bail conditions “which were unavoidable or involuntary on his part”.
“In those circumstances, and absent any authorisation in the contract for the employer to withhold pay, he was entitled to be paid,” Dunlop stated.