Holiday pay and commission issue is finally concluded
Public services union UNISON’s hard-fought, five year battle to establish that commission should be reflected in holiday pay has finally come to an end.
The Supreme Court has refused to grant British Gas the right to appeal the successful holiday pay case of UNISON member, Joe Lock. Last autumn, the Court of Appeal confirmed that where employees receive results-based commission as part of their salary — British Gas operated this type of commission scheme —statutory annual leave pay should include the commission element, as well as the basic wage (see Labour Research, November 2016, page 19).
UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis explained that until now, “many whose wages included commission lost a lot of money when they took a holiday”, and many were put off taking a holiday at all. UNISON’s case has “put right that wrong” which was having a negative impact on the lives of workers.
However, Prentis has warned that this newly-established right may be under threat, depending on the outcome of Brexit. He explained that the holiday pay right is “based on a European directive” and “could well disappear” once the UK is outside the EU.
And he urged the government “to prove it’s on the side of ordinary workers” by “showing how it is going to protect rights such as these”.