An American singer, Troi Irons, has been awarded £20,000 in compensation after an independent music company failed to pay him his wages, leaving him in a dire financial situation where he had to ask for money to buy dinner.
Irons, a musician and songwriter, was flown to Bristol from Los Angeles in 2023 to work for 3tone Music as an artist and musical engineer.
However, an employment tribunal heard that he was told to “work with a handshake instead of a contract,” and the promised salary of £30,000 a year never materialized.
Reports emerged in January that 3tone Music, based in Bristol, was facing multiple allegations of unpaid royalties, with several former staff members still waiting for their wages.
Irons himself was forced to message the company’s CEO, Dean Roberts, asking for “money for dinner” while Roberts was attending the Glastonbury Festival.
The tribunal was informed that 3tone provided Irons with accommodation when he first arrived in the UK but failed to pay the rent, resulting in his eviction in November 2023.
Despite Roberts’ claims that no formal employment contract existed and that Irons never performed any work for the company, the tribunal found that 3tone had exercised enough control over Irons to be considered his employer.
Irons arrived in the UK on January 15, 2023, with the understanding that 3tone would arrange a long-term visa for him. However, the company only applied for a creative worker visa in April 2023, stating he would be working as a “musician/producer” for an established UK label.
In June 2023, while Roberts was at the Glastonbury Festival, Irons sent him a WhatsApp message reminding him that he needed money.
Roberts replied that he had a poor signal but promised to transfer some funds that day. Desperate, Irons followed up with another message saying, “Please, I don’t have money for dinner.”
The tribunal ultimately concluded that Irons was indeed an employee of 3tone Music and was entitled to his wages. He was awarded £13,691 for unpaid wages, £2,692 for accrued but untaken holiday, and £4,331 for an additional work agreement, totaling nearly £20,000.
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