Simon Davey and His Phone Bill

Simon Davey, the former Hereford United manager, ran up a large mobile phone bill in his last days with Darlington. And the issue has been settled in court this week.

Davey claimed that Darlington had failed to pay him some holiday entitlement and taken some extra deductions from his wages.

However Darlington said that he had run up an “extortionate” bill on his club mobile after quitting.

In a tribunal ruling, Employment Judge Holmes confirmed Davey's successful claim.

"The time for presenting a response (from Darlington FC) expired, and no valid response was presented," the judgement said as reported by the Sunday Sun.

"On the basis of the information before the employment judge we find that Mr Davey’s claim of breach of contract and unauthorised deduction from wages is well founded and succeeds."

Raj Singh, the Darlington chairman, said the matter had been resolved. The paper suggested that Davey had received around £800 in a settlement.

"We never disputed the fact that the previous manager was owed some holiday entitlement," said a spokesperson for Darlington.

"But having left the club, Simon Davey ran up a bill on a club-owned mobile phone in a matter of days which we felt had to be deducted from what he was owed.

"We were in constant dialogue with the League Managers’ Association and, as far as we were concerned, we were working towards an amicable settlement, until Mr Davey insisted on taking the matter to a tribunal anyway.

"We didn’t attend the tribunal as we felt we didn’t have a case to answer. As it happens, we have no qualms with the outcome, so we wish Mr Davey all the best."

Davey hasn't commented on the tribunal.

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