Manager stole £20k of holiday pay from 40 workers

Single mother Lisa Philips diddled more than 40 workers with Stafford-based agency Spring Recruitment to pay her mortgage arrears, Stafford Crown Court heard.

Using the firm's computer records, she diverted the money from their accounts to her own bank account - and then changed the records back to cover her tracks.

Many of the victims were in low paid jobs, some with only limited English and no knowledge of the UK's pay and legal systems.

Philips was caught out while on maternity leave when one worker complained about being owed £3,500 holiday pay, said Miss Heather Chamberlin, prosecuting.

Philips, aged 43, of Peel Street, Newcastle under Lyme, admitted a charge of fraud between January 2009 and August 2013.

Sending her to jail, Judge Michael Challinor told her: "This offence is a breach of a high degree of trust. You were in a management position and you were dealing with people who, by and large, were in straitened circumstances, often having many of the problems you faced.

"In the full knowledge of that, you deliberately skimmed off their earnings in the form of holiday pay for your own ends. You were taking from people in the job market who were very vulnerable.

Miss Chamberlin said Philips joined Spring Recruitment in Eastgate Street, Stafford in 2008 and was promoted to manager the following year. She left in August 2013.

An audit carried out by another manager revealed she had made 52 illicit payments from 41 workers in to her own bank or savings accounts, totalling £19,505.

She did it by editing the clients' accounts on the computer system.

It was discovered in March 2013, whilst she was away on maternity leave and one client complained about being owed £3,500 holiday pay.

Along with the jail sentence, the judge also made an order under the Proceeds of Crime Act to confiscate £20,484 from Philips - all the embezzled money plus interest.

She was given three months to pay or face 12 more months in prison.

Mr Paul Hiatt, defending, said Philips, a single mother of two with a daughter aged two, had got in to difficulties with her mortgage and was at risk of losing her home.

"The money was used to pay mortgage arrears. She is sorry for the shame it has brought on her family."

Philips had since found another job as a recruitment consultant, but with no financial responsibilities.