The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that the employment tribunal adopted an unduly restrictive approach when deciding that the time spent by two trade union representatives attending union meetings during the day was not "working time". The EAT said that the correct approach is to take into account the aims of the EU Directive relating to working time.
On its return from the European Court of Justice (ECJ), the employment tribunal in this important case has read an extra subsection into the Working Time Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/1833) to comply with the Working Time Directive (2003/88/EC).
In Bear Scotland Ltd and others v Fulton and others; Hertel (UK) Ltd v Woods and others; Amec Group Ltd v Law and others [2015] IRLR 15 EAT, the EAT held that payment in respect of overtime that the worker is obliged to work when it is available, but that is not guaranteed by the employer, constitutes part of the worker's normal remuneration and as such should be included in the computation of the worker's holiday pay.
David Malamatenios is partner, Linda Quinn, Colin Makin and Krishna Santra are senior associates, and Dominic Speedie is an associate at Colman Coyle Solicitors. They round up the latest rulings.
In Sood Enterprises Ltd v Healy [2013] IRLR 865 EAT, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that workers on long-term sick leave who have not taken their annual holiday entitlement may not carry over the additional 1.6 weeks' leave to which UK workers are entitled without an agreement to do so.
This employment tribunal held that employers should not circumvent the requirement to pay a departing worker for holiday that he or she has accrued but not taken by providing in the contract of employment that the worker will be entitled only to a nominal sum.
The European Court of Justice has confirmed that the holiday pay of a worker on a zero hours contract placed on short-time working can be calculated on a pro rata basis.
The Supreme Court has remitted to the employment tribunal the case brought by British Airways pilots in relation to the inclusion of flying allowances in the calculation of their holiday pay, following the results of the reference to the European Court of Justice on whether or not "normal remuneration" during a period of annual leave should include allowances on top of basic pay.