Holiday pay and commission

A. No. Public services union UNISON has recently won an important victory in the European Court on this issue, in the case of Lock v British Gas Trading Company Limited (see Labour Research, July 2014, page 19).

The law says that your holiday pay must reflect your normal wages. This means it must include all the variable supplements such as commission, bonuses and overtime payments that are a normal part of your pay. Just paying your “basic” pay while you are on holiday is a breach of the Working Time Directive.

The European Court is very clear that taking paid holiday is a core social right of all workers. Where holiday pay is limited to basic pay only, this deters workers from taking their holiday. This is what makes it a breach of the Directive.

Unpaid holiday pay can be claimed from the employment tribunal as an unlawful deduction of wages.

There is the possibility, in some cases, of claims going back up as much as six years.

Speak to your rep to see whether a collective approach can be made to your employer.

www.unison.org.uk/unison-wins-landmark-decision-for-workers-to-have-commission-included-in-holiday-pay

www.bailii.org/eu/cases/EUECJ/2014/C53912.html