PART 1: DATES, DEFINITIONS AND OBLIGATIONS
pay.
Casual overtime has remained, technically outside the definition of normal working time for holiday pay purposes, however there is still the question of what happens when such casual overtime becomes so regular that it moves to being non-guaranteed, or even guaranteed by virtue of custom and practice. The case of ZJR Lock v British Gas Trading Ltd and others (2014), looked into the status of commission payments in relation to holiday pay and concluded that if the workers remuneration includes commission or similar payment then such payment may be required to be included in holiday pay calculations. COPYRIGHT © 2021 THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF PAYROLL PROFESSIONALS This, however, has limited effect generally and it remains to be established exactly how the ruling will affect payments in the future. During 2016 it emerged that the Lock case determined that some payments would be included in the calculation of holiday pay if they were “intrinsically linked”. In addition, there remains some concern about the reference period for averaging variable payments in respect of holiday pay calculations. More answers are awaited from future deliberations and cases. Employment tribunals in the latter part of 2017 determined that gaps of three months or more will disallow claims of unlawful deduction from pay for underpaid annual leave. This now means that employers liability in such cases is significantly reduced. Whilst this rule applies generally the Court of Appeal case of Chief Constable of the PSNI v Agnew (and others) has shown that no such limit exists in the equivalent employment rights legislation in Northern Ireland and as a consequence, in NI alone, claims are not blocked by the three month rule. The Taylor report, “Good Work”, has made comment on the referencing period mentioned above and it remains to be seen what changes emerge over the next few years to address the issues raised in the various employment cases. Young Workers From 6th April 2003 regulations were adopted to protect young workers (15 to 18 years of age), in limiting working time to not more than 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week. There are a number of limited exceptions related to particular occupations and circumstances which include workers in: • hospitals or similar establishments • cultural, artistic, sporting or advertising activities. No young worker (adolescent) may work during a ‘restricted period’ with limited exceptions if the young worker is employed in: • agriculture • retail trade • postal or newspaper deliveries • hotel, public house, restaurant, bar or similar establishments • bakeries. No printing, copying or reproduction permitted.
144
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker