Other case law news

Unlawful deductions

The facts

Mrs Sands-Ellison's contract of employment said that she had to give her full contractual notice if resigning. Furthermore, it encouraged this by reassuring employees that, if they gave notice, they would get any outstanding holiday pay and bonus. Sands-Ellison left without giving proper notice and had her holiday pay withheld. She claimed that this amounted to an unlawful deduction.

The ruling

The EAT agreed that the employers had unlawfully deducted her pay. The contract clause encouraging employees to give their notice and guaranteeing them their pay could not be interpreted as stating unequivocally that pay would be deducted where notice had not been properly given. The absence of this authority to deduct made the employer's actions unlawful. The EAT ordered the employer to pay to Sands-Ellison the £408 unlawfully deducted

* Sands-Ellison v One Call Insurance EAT/0002/02

Holiday pay

The EAT has held that it appears to it that there is no obligation on employers to include overtime earnings within the calculation of holiday pay. However, because the law is not clearly defined on this point, the EAT has asked the Court of Appeal to rule on the issue.

* Bamsey v Albon Engineering EAT/365/02