Holiday Pay

British Airways plc v Williams and Others (No 2) 2012 UKSC 43

In this case the Supreme Court considered whether pilots were entitled to receive supplementary payments in addition to their basic pay during periods of annual leave. The Supreme Court overturned the Court of Appeal's decision that by paying airline pilots basic pay only during periods of annual leave without taking into account contractual supplementary payments this was not a breach by BA of Regulation 4 of the Civil Aviation (Working Time) Regulations 2004.

Mr Williams was the lead claimant for some 2,750 pilot claimants employed by BA.The pilots were successful before the employment tribunal and the appeal tribunal but unsuccessful before the Court of Appeal.They then appealed to the Supreme Court who referred the matter to the ECJ. The ECJ stated that it was for the National Court to determine into which of the two categories any payment falls.

The claim has now been remitted to the employment tribunal to assess the appropriate payments to be included in respect of flight pay supplements and to consider the extent to which time away from base allowances were intended...