On 11th July 2016, John Cavanagh KC appeared for British Gas before the Court of Appeal in the highly-anticipated appeal in the case of British Gas Trading Ltd v Lock. This is the leading case on holiday pay entitlements, and concerns the question whether results-based commission has to be taken into account when calculating employees’ holiday pay. At an earlier stage in these proceedings, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that, as a matter of EU law, results-based commission must be taken into account and the issue for the Court of Appeal is whether UK law can be read in line with EU law, or whether Parliament must change domestic legislation before such commission must be taken into account by employers. The case is likely to be significant for other issues relating to holiday pay, such as whether non-guaranteed overtime must be taken into account. The Court of Appeal has reserved judgment and a judgment is expected in the next month or two.
