Case Law Update
Alan Kitto
2015 gave us a number of key Employment Tribunal decisions on a number of employment issues:
In Bear Scotland vs. Fulton, Hertel vs. Woods and Amec vs. Law the Employment Tribunal (ET) considered whether holiday pay should include overtime in respect of the minimum four weeks' statutory annual leave required by the Working Time Regulations. The ET found that non-guaranteed overtime should be included in holiday pay when it comprised a part of the employee's 'normal remuneration'.
In Lock and Others vs. British Gas Trading Ltd and another, in a similar vein, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) considered whether commission should be included in the calculation of holiday pay. The ECJ clarified that when commission is directly linked to the work the employee carries out, the employer must take commission into account when calculating holiday pay.
In Ramphal vs. Department of Transport the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) considered whether a disciplinary investigation which had been heavily influenced by the human resources department could result in an unfair dismissal. The EAT held that there was an implied term that the report of the Investigating Officer in the course of a disciplinary enquiry must be the product of their own investigation. Heavy influence from HR could lead an inference of improper influence which could lead to a resulting dismissal being unfair.
Finally, in USDAW and Another vs. WW Realisation Ltd (in liquidation), Ethel Austin Ltd and Another (the 'Woolworths' case), the ECJ considered the meaning of 'establishment' for the purposes of determining when the obligation to consult would apply as part of the collective redundancy requirements. The ECJ held that the requirement for collective consultation is triggered when the employee proposes 20 or more redundancies within a timescale of 90 days at a single establishment, as opposed to across all its sites.
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