Bonuses

New and updated

• Date:

  27 April 2009

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Contracts of employment: Tribunal erred in not determining to which aspect of a bonus scheme the employer's discretion attached

  In Small and others v Boots Co and another [2009] All ER (D) 200 (Jan) EAT, the EAT held that the fact that the employer had stated that a bonus was discretionary did not necessarily mean that it had no contractual effect. The employer's discretion could relate to: whether or not to operate a bonus system at all; whether or not to award a bonus in a given year; or the amount of bonus to be awarded.

• Date:

  12 November 2008

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Blackburn and another v Chief Constable of West Midlands Police

  The Court of Appeal has held that paying bonuses to employees who worked night shifts did not constitute sex discrimination.

• Date:

  7 October 2008

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Case of the week: Equal pay claims

  This week's case of the week, provided by DLA Piper, covers equal pay claims.

• Date:

  24 December 2007

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Age discrimination: recent tribunal decisions

  A review of a number of recent employment tribunal decisions suggests that some employers remain unaware of the implications of, or are struggling with, the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/1031), which became law on 1 October 2006. The decisions also demonstrate the approach that the tribunals might take to the question of justification of discrimination and to the assessment of injury to feelings compensation.

• Date:

  3 July 2007

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Case of the week: Banking on the bonus doesn't pay

  This week's case of the week, provided by Addleshaw Goddard, covers discretionary bonuses.

• Date:

  17 April 2007

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Discretionary bonuses: Employer properly exercised discretion in making bonus payments

  In Commerzbank AG v Keen [2007] IRLR 132 CA the Court of Appeal held that an employer did not act in breach of the implied terms of a contract of employment in awarding to a highly paid employee lower bonuses than those recommended by his manager. Further, the terms of employment contracts are not covered by the provisions of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.

• Date:

  2 March 2007

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Equal pay: case law update

  This article looks at some of the significant judgments in the area of equal pay over the past year and their implications.

• Date:

  23 June 2006

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Sex discrimination: Pro rata reduction of contractual bonus for ordinary maternity leave not discriminatory

  In Hoyland v Asda Stores Ltd [2006] All ER (D) 133 CS, the Court of Session holds that despite being described as "discretionary" a bonus scheme was "regulated" by the employee's contract of employment and therefore fell outside the scope of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975.

• Date:

  25 February 2005

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Deductions from wages: Failure to pay declared bonus was unlawful deduction

  In Farrell Matthews & Weir v Hansen, the EAT holds that a non-contractual bonus that had been declared constituted wages under s.27(3) of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The employer's failure to pay it therefore amounted to an unlawful deduction from wages.

• Date:

  24 December 2004

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Fixed-term workers: Fixed-term detriment found despite application to other groups

  In Coutts & Co plc v Cure; Royal Bank of Scotland v Fraser, the EAT holds that, in a case where an employer refused to pay a non-contractual bonus to all non-permanent employees, including some fixed-term workers, the tribunal did not err in law by holding that the reason for the less favourable treatment was on the ground of the employees' status as fixed-term workers.