British Gas Lose Appeal In Commission Case

British Gas has today (22 February) lost its appeal in the high profile case relating to how holiday pay should be calculated for employees who earn commission as part of their salary.

The case focusses on Mr Lock, a sales employee at British Gas. In 2014 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that Mr Lock, whose salary included significant commission payments, should not be financially disadvantaged by the fact that he could not earn commission during his holiday.

The ECJ concluded that Mr Lock’s commission was directly linked to the work he carried out and must be taken into account when calculating holiday pay.   

The long-running case then returned to the Employment Tribunal to determine whether the UK’s Working Time Regulations can be read so as to be consistent with the ECJ’s decision. This was successful, but earlier this year, British Gas appealed this decision and the hearing took place on the 8th and 9th December 2015. 

It was announced today that British Gas’ appeal was unsuccessful. However it is understood that British Gas has asked for permission to take the case to the Court of Appeal for a definitive ruling.