Annualised hours

Case 6: The facts

Customer service assistants for a train operator were moved onto an annualised hours contract and brought claims for holiday pay.

The contract, which had been reached after consultation with the unions, involved a commitment by the employee to work 1,930 hours a year with either 22 or 24 days’ holiday, depending on length of service. These holidays were included within the 1,930 hours, but the workers argued they should have been in addition.

The ruling

The Employment Appeal Tribunal rejected the claim. It considered the situation of office workers who work a 35-hour week and get four weeks’ holiday – they are paid for 52 weeks a year, but for four of those weeks they do not attend work. Similarly, the train workers agreed to work 1,930 hours a year, but for some of those hours they were on holiday and not attending work. They were not entitled to holiday pay on top of their annual salary.

Cook and others v C2C Rail Ltd UKEAT/0604/05