The landmark judgment last week, Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland v Agnew [2023] UKSC 33, means thousands of police staff in Northern Ireland can claim up to 35 years' worth of miscalculated holiday pay.
The claimants, police officers and civilian staff, brought claims for miscalculated holiday pay dating back to 1998. The dispute concerned whether a statutory provision applied, time-barring claims for underpayments going back further than three months.
Colin Godfrey, employment lawyer at Taylor Wessing, said: ‘This means that gaps of more than three months will no longer prevent individuals bringing claims for a series of underpaid holidays.’
Andy Williams, partner, Stevens & Bolton, said: ‘Until [this judgment], the position in England, Wales and Scotland had been governed by the Employment Appeal Tribunal’s (EAT) 2013 finding in the case of Bear Scotland [Bear Scotland Ltd v Fulton [2015] ICR 221 (EAT)], that a gap of more than three months in a series of underpayments was sufficient to extinguish the right to bring claims in respect of any earlier underpayments.
‘Likewise, the EAT inferred that making a payment for holiday at the correct rate of pay could also break a series of deductions. The EAT’s finding in Bear Scotland has come under criticism and [this] judgment will come as no surprise to many.
‘The Supreme Court’s judgment will be of grave concern to many employers, as it greatly increases the potential cost of historic holiday pay claims. Employers in Great Britain (ie those in England, Wales and Scotland) may still, however, take comfort from the two year limit on historic holiday pay claims [under the Deduction from Wages (Limitation) Regulations 2014].’
