Tax and deductions from pay
In Small and others v Boots Co and another [2009] All ER (D) 200 (Jan) EAT, the EAT held that the fact that the employer had stated that a bonus was discretionary did not necessarily mean that it had no contractual effect. The employer's discretion could relate to: whether or not to operate a bonus system at all; whether or not to award a bonus in a given year; or the amount of bonus to be awarded.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that an employment tribunal did not have jurisdiction to hear claims against British Airways for non-payment of flying allowances to cabin crew who had not been able to fly because of an airport closure.
This article looks at some of the important judgments in the area of the transfer of undertakings over the past year.
The High Court has held that an employer could deduct only 1/260th of salary from employees' pay in respect of a one-day strike, and not 1/228th, which discounted paid holiday.
This week's case of the week, provided by Addleshaw Goddard, covers unlawful deductions from wages.
In Coors Brewers Ltd v Adcock [2007] EWCA Civ 19 CA, the Court of Appeal has held that employment tribunals do not have jurisdiction to hear claims for unlawful deductions from wages where a detailed investigation to identify the level of underpayment is required.
In Farrell Matthews & Weir v Hansen, the EAT holds that a non-contractual bonus that had been declared constituted wages under s.27(3) of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The employer's failure to pay it therefore amounted to an unlawful deduction from wages.
The Court of Appeal has upheld the decision of the High Court in Wilson (HM Inspector of Taxes) v Clayton that a payment from an employer under a compromise agreement should be treated as a termination payment under s.403 of the Income (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003.
In Usetech Ltd v Young (Inspector of Taxes) [2004] EWHC 2248 HC, the High Court found that where an individual provided his services through his own service company and an agency all the contracts were subsumed into one. The relevant terms identified and transferred to the notional contract between the individual and the hirer were consistent with those of an employment contract.
In Guthrie v Scottish Courage Ltd [2004] All ER (D) 15 (Jun) EAT, the Employment Appeal Tribunal upheld a tribunal chair's decision that the employer had made an unlawful deduction from wages when it withheld company sick pay because it had reached a perverse conclusion that the employee's illness was not genuine.
Employment law cases: HR and legal information and guidance relating to tax and deductions from pay.