6 November 2014
Overtime and holiday pay - the end of the road?
On 4 November the long-awaited decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal in the case of Bear Scotland v Fulton & Others was released.
The Tribunal had to decide whether non-guaranteed overtime (that is, overtime which the employer does not have to offer, but the employee must work if offered) should be included when calculating holiday pay. The question rested on whether such overtime was "intrinsically linked" to their performance and remuneration, as described in 2012 by the European Court of Justice in the case of British Airways v Williams. The EAT's answer was that yes, it was intrinsically linked, and should be included. By way of contrast, items such as expenses are not intrinsically linked.
The howls of pain that greeted this decision are understandable. It means that any employer who bases holiday pay purely on basic pay may have to update those calculations and install complicated systems to keep track of each individual's pay over each 12-week period.
But some comfort can be drawn from the fact that the EAT severely restricted any backdating exercise. There were fears that claims for back pay may run all the way back to 1998. The EAT has restricted it to a maximum of 3 months.
Printers will no doubt find the Union knocking on their doors over the coming weeks wanting to open negotiations. What should members' response be?
Firstly, point out to the Union that this decision may well be appealed, possibly all the way up to Europe, in which case any final decision on the matter is probably years away. Secondly, bear in mind that this decision only relates to the 20 days holiday covered by the Working Time Directive, any holidays above that can be treated as normal. Contact your local BPIF HR Adviser for continued support on this issue.
Whilst waiting to see the outcome of any appeal, members may want to review current overtime rates - could you reduce the amount of overtime done? Also initiate a general audit on holiday pay levels, as well as calculating the effect of having to include voluntary overtime in the future. After all, forewarned is forearmed.
Pay Review Data, Wage Benchmarking and Cost of Living – FEB 2024 UPDATE
14 February 2024
We have collated data from multiple sources that should be useful for BPIF members that are approaching internal pay reviews, and/or are having a closer look at their pay and benefits structure. The datafile, first published in February 2023, has been updated with the latest available data - and additional content on factors exerting pressure on pay settlements in 2024.
Slight recovery of output and orders falls short of expectations in Q4 - confidence concerns mount in 2024
22 February 2024
Performance in the UK's printing and printed packaging industry did improve in Q4, as far as output and orders are concerned. However, it didn't come close to what would historically be considered the seasonal norm, nor quite match the subdued expectations for Q4.
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