Many UK workers could be entitled to thousands of pounds unfairly taken from their pay following a landmark Supreme Court ruling in a successful challenge brought by Unison.
Prior to this, workers who consistently received incorrect pay could only make a claim at an employment tribunal for the most recent underpayment. They could also include similar underpayments on previous occasions, but not if there was a gap of three or more months between them.
The ruling means many workers will now be able to challenge ongoing linked underpayments in their wages.
They will be able to do this even if there is a gap of three months or more since the last time this happened. They weren’t able to do so previously.
The judgment in Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and another v Agnew and other & UNISON overrules holiday pay case law operating since 2015.
This had prevented tribunals from considering deductions where there had been a gap of three months or more between a series of similar underpayments for an employee.
The facts of the case focused on holiday pay, where it will be applied most widely.
The Supreme Court drew attention to the purpose of the provisions for unlawful deductions in protecting workers, some of whom may be vulnerable, from being paid too little for the work they do.
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