House of Commons staff owed £6 million

Unions representing staff who work in the House of Commons are taking legal action to obtain lost pay.

The unions, Prospect, the FDA and PCS, say that failure to pay staff their annual increments is a breach of contract. They believe their members are owed £6 million in lost pay and are taking the House of Commons Commission to the High Court.

Prospect negotiator John Higgins said: “The pay of staff of the House has to be comparable with that of civil servants and the commission decided in 2011 that it would apply the government’s pay freeze to its staff. This includes not paying staff their annual increments due from April 2011.

“The unions’ legal advice is that this is a breach of contract because the increments are contractual and therefore exempt from the pay freeze. As a result of a peculiarity of law, the claims have to be heard in the High Court rather than an Employment Tribunal.”

The failure to pay increments affects hundreds of union members and is calculated to amount to nearly £2 million a year over three years.