News

You may recall that there are some significant developments around holiday and holiday pay that we reported back in June (see news item). This relates to how holiday pay is calculated and whether items such as overtime and commission need to be included in holiday pay calculations.  One of the cases in this ongoing saga (Lock v British Gas) was due to be heard in the Leicester Employment Tribunal on 20 and 21 October 2014. This has now been postponed and we understand it is likely to be heard in February 2015.  This case has already been referred to Europe and the Court of Justice of the European Union has decreed that account should be taken of commission when calculating holiday pay. It is now for the Leicester Employment Tribunal to apply this determination in accordance with UK law and to the particular facts of this case. The outcome is likely to have significant implications for any employer who operates a commission based scheme.

We are also waiting for the outcome of another case in the joint appeals of Fulton v Bear Scotland Limited and Wood and Others v Hertel & AMEC. Counsel was recalled to deliver submissions in early September 2014 and a decision is expected sometime in the autumn.

We will keep you updated on developments - but at this stage, there is still no clarity on this matter.