The Supreme Court yesterday refused British Gas permission to appeal the Court of Appeal ruling that statutory holiday pay must include results-based commission (Lock v British Gas Trading).
This provides employers with final confirmation that the calculation of pay for the first 4 weeks of statutory holiday must include an amount in respect of results-based commission, as well as non-guaranteed compulsory overtime and most likely voluntary overtime too (although as yet the latter has only been decided at first instance). The Working Time Regulations must be read purposively to implement EU law to this effect. In terms of the reference period for averaging pay including results-based commission, the parties in this case accepted that the provisions in the Employment Rights Act 1996 averaging pay over a 12 week period should apply.
Although a hard Brexit would enable the Government to change this rule in the future, the Prime Minister's commitment to maintaining workers' rights makes this unlikely in the short term.
Key contacts
Samantha Brown
Managing Partner, Employment, Pensions and Incentives, UK and EMEA, London
Steve Bell
Managing Partner, Employment, Industrial Relations and Safety, Asia and Australia, Melbourne
Emma Rohsler
Partner, Head of Employment, Pensions and Incentives, EMEA, Paris
Tim Leaver
Partner, London
Andrew Taggart
Partner, London
Fatim Jumabhoy
Partner, Head of Employment & Workplace Investigations, Asia, Singapore
Barbara Roth
Partner, New York
Christine Young
Partner, London
Disclaimer
The articles published on this website, current at the dates of publication set out above, are for reference purposes only. They do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Specific legal advice about your specific circumstances should always be sought separately before taking any action.