A DISGRUNTLED former Costa coffee worker says he has been fighting for more than a year to get back £1,200 in unpaid wages.

Jamie Johnson was employed at the coffee chain’s outlet on Stockton High Street, but said he was forced to quit after he was hit by a car, which left him on crutches and unable to stand properly.

Mr Johnson, of Victoria Road, Darlington, said he worked for 30 to 40 hours per week for two months in January and February last year and also undertook shifts at a Costa in Norton.

When he challenged the store manager – who has since moved to another outlet – he said he was told as he left of his own accord he was not entitled to anything, despite claiming he is owed approximately £1,200.

Mr Johnson explained he was unable to work following a leg injury and the company refused him time off, eventually forcing him to resign.

He said although he was still in his probationary period, he should still have been paid.

Mr Johnson said: “I worked for two months without pay and also had to pay for my uniform out of my own pocket.

“I’m fed up, this has been going on for more than a year now.”

The 20-year-old, who previously ran his own business and hopes to secure a role with the Student Loans Company, said he did not receive his first month’s pay as he was working a month in arrears.

He said he would consider taking a claim through the civil courts in a bid to recover the money.

The Costa brand is owned by Whitbread, but the coffee shop Mr Johnson worked in was operated as a franchise by the company Cuppacoff, which runs a number of restaurants and cafes.

When an Echo reporter contacted Cuppacoff at its head office in Wembley, Middlesex in order to obtain a comment staff said they could not find Mr Johnson’s records.

However a spokeswoman for Whitbread said the two parties – Cuppacoff and Mr Johnson - planned to speak with each in a bid to resolve the issue.