"The breach of contract which the Trust thereby committed was serious and repudiatory."
Following the decision, Matthew Gardiner, Chief Executive at Trafford Housing Trust said:
"We fully accept the court's decision and I have made a full and sincere apology to Adrian.
"At the time we believed we were taking the appropriate action following discussions with our employment solicitors and taking into account his previous disciplinary record.
"This case has highlighted the challenges that businesses face with the increased use of social media and we have reviewed our documentation and procedures to avoid a similar situation arising in the future.”
WHAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE HOLIDAY PAY CALCULATION?
3 December 2012
In a recent case of British Airways plc v Williams and others, the Court ruled that pilots should be paid their “normal remuneration” during their four weeks’ statutory annual leave.
Pinsent Masons take an interesting look at the wider implications of this case for employers, including the potential for employees to argue that payments for non-guaranteed overtime should be included in the holiday pay calculation.
This will be of particular interest to employers in the retail sector, especially in the run up to Christmas where non-guaranteed overtime may be common.
At a Glance The Supreme Court followed a decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which decided that holiday pay should put a worker in a financial position which was comparable to periods of work. The CJEU said that paid annual leave should include payment for tasks that the employee was contractually required to perform, but not payments which were “intended exclusively to cover occasional or ancillary costs”. Whilst this decision is directly relevant to the airline industry and concerns the Civil Aviation (Working Time) Regulations, (the CAWT Regulations) it could have wider implications which could see workers arguing that certain payments such as commission, bonuses and even non-guaranteed overtime, should be included in holiday pay. Public sector employees can make such challenges on the basis of this decision now, but private sector employers might still be able to resist such challenges by relying on the narrower definition of pay in the Working Time Regulations and Employment Rights Act 1996. Facts A group of British Airways (BA) pilots argued that their holiday pay should include two supplements contained in their terms of employment: a “flying pay supplement” of £10 per flying hour, and part of a “time away from base” allowance that covered meals and other costs. Pilots are taxed at only 18% on this second payment as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) considers the balance reflects out of pocket expenses. The Court of Appeal rejected the pilots’ claims, finding that BA was not in breach of the CAWT Regulations by paying airline pilots basic pay only during periods of annual leave. On appeal, the Supreme Court referred a number of questions to the CJEU about the definition of “paid annual leave”. The CJEU held that “normal remuneration”, for the purposes of the EU Aviation Directive, would include payment for tasks that the employee was contractually required to perform, but not payments which were “intended exclusively to cover occasional or ancillary costs”. In light of this decision, the Supreme Court overturned the Court of Appeal’s decision,
CIPP Policy News Journal
12/04/2013, Page 71 of 362
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