Police were called to remove a Papa John’s manager who refused to accept fake payslips
A Papa John’s store manager had the police called to remove him from his own restaurant after he refused to be paid “cash-in-hand” and insisted on paying his taxes.
Ashwani Kumar, who managed the Harlow, Essex branch of the pizza chain, successfully sued his former employers – EEM London Ltd, EEM Holdings Ltd, and owner Abdul Sattar Askar – for automatic unfair dismissal after a confrontation over his employment rights.
The dispute climaxed on January 25, 2025, when Kumar returned from an authorised holiday in India. Upon arriving for his normal shift, he was told there was no work for him at the Harlow store. Management offered to place him at a different location, but only on the strict condition that he accept cash-in-hand payments going forward.
At the start of his contract, Kumar had refused the company’s offer to work cash-in-hand for just £7.50 an hour. Instead, he demanded official payslips to ensure his Tax and National Insurance were being lawfully paid to the relevant authorities.
However, Kumar later discovered through communications with HMRC that the payslips he was provided were not genuine, and the tax purportedly deducted from his wages was never actually paid to HMRC.
When Kumar refused the illicit payment terms and insisted he wanted to work, the employers called the police to have him forcibly removed from the premises. Officers informed Kumar there was nothing they could do as management claimed he no longer worked there, but the police advised him to take the matter to an Employment Tribunal.
The East London Employment Tribunal heard that shady payment practices had been an issue since Kumar began his employment in February 2023.
Alongside the fake payslips, the company completely failed to pay Kumar any holiday pay for the duration of his two-year employment, falsely claiming he wasn’t entitled to it. Furthermore, he was never paid for the busy December 2024 holiday period, leaving him short of £2,040.39 in net wages.
When Kumar wrote to HR to complain about his dismissal and treatment – specifically noting that the company had brought in an international student to take his shifts at a lower pay rate – the firm’s solicitors sent him a letter threatening defamation proceedings and demanding he retract his allegations. Kumar refused and proceeded with his tribunal claim.
In a judgment published in July 2026, Employment Judge Jones ruled entirely in Kumar’s favor. The judge found Kumar was the victim of automatic unfair dismissal because he asserted his statutory rights to receive itemized payslips, have lawful tax deductions made, and receive paid holiday.
The respondents, who failed to attend the tribunal hearing and did not provide any original documents to defend themselves, were also found liable for unauthorised wage deductions and failure to pay notice pay.
A future remedy hearing will determine the exact financial compensation Kumar is owed for the successful claims
When MyLondon contacted Papa John’s they said that they take the tribunal’s findings seriously. The company reiterated that the matter relates to an independently owned and operated Papa Johns franchise. MyLondon understands they are taking steps to challenge the judgment.
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