British Airways v Williams
Encyclopedia
British Airways v Williams [2010 UKSC 16] was a 2010 decision by the United Kingdom Supreme Court relating to employment law and European
Working Time regulations. The court did not make any ruling in the case, but rather referred a number of questions raised by the case to the European Court of Justice
for consideration.
Under the Civil Aviation (Working Time) Regulations 2004, which enacted the European directive 2000/79/EC, airline crew are entitled to a minimum of four weeks 'paid annual leave'. Under UK law, this meant that airline crew were in general entitled to 'normal or comparable pay' whilst on leave. BA crew were paid a basic fixed wage, but they also received additional payment in the form of a 'Flying Pay Supplement' and a 'Time Away from Base Allowance'. During periods of statutory leave, staff, including the appellants, were paid according to their basic wage, without any allowance for time that they would have spent flying, or away from base, had they been working according to their usual patterns.
A case was brought in the Employment Tribunals by approximately 2,750 BA pilots, who argued that the 'normal pay' condition under UK law meant that BA were obliged to pay them as though they had spent time away from base and on flights during their annual leave. Their claim was successful in both the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeals Tribunal, but the Court of Appeal found for BA, holding that whilst European directives set out a broad principle that employees were entitled to four weeks leave at a rate of pay which was comparable to their regular pay, BA were not in breach of any domestic statutory obligations by failing to pay employees exactly what they would have earned had they worked through their holiday.
The Supreme Court declined to address the issues presented by the case and instead opted to refer a series of questions to the European Court of Justice
regarding the Directives and the issues raised in the appeal. The certified questions asked:
The European Court of Justice is yet to provide any answers to these questions, so it is not yet known if the pilots will succeed.
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
Working Time regulations. The court did not make any ruling in the case, but rather referred a number of questions raised by the case to the European Court of Justice
European Court of Justice
The Court can sit in plenary session, as a Grand Chamber of 13 judges, or in chambers of three or five judges. Plenary sitting are now very rare, and the court mostly sits in chambers of three or five judges...
for consideration.
Under the Civil Aviation (Working Time) Regulations 2004, which enacted the European directive 2000/79/EC, airline crew are entitled to a minimum of four weeks 'paid annual leave'. Under UK law, this meant that airline crew were in general entitled to 'normal or comparable pay' whilst on leave. BA crew were paid a basic fixed wage, but they also received additional payment in the form of a 'Flying Pay Supplement' and a 'Time Away from Base Allowance'. During periods of statutory leave, staff, including the appellants, were paid according to their basic wage, without any allowance for time that they would have spent flying, or away from base, had they been working according to their usual patterns.
A case was brought in the Employment Tribunals by approximately 2,750 BA pilots, who argued that the 'normal pay' condition under UK law meant that BA were obliged to pay them as though they had spent time away from base and on flights during their annual leave. Their claim was successful in both the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeals Tribunal, but the Court of Appeal found for BA, holding that whilst European directives set out a broad principle that employees were entitled to four weeks leave at a rate of pay which was comparable to their regular pay, BA were not in breach of any domestic statutory obligations by failing to pay employees exactly what they would have earned had they worked through their holiday.
The Supreme Court declined to address the issues presented by the case and instead opted to refer a series of questions to the European Court of Justice
European Court of Justice
The Court can sit in plenary session, as a Grand Chamber of 13 judges, or in chambers of three or five judges. Plenary sitting are now very rare, and the court mostly sits in chambers of three or five judges...
regarding the Directives and the issues raised in the appeal. The certified questions asked:
- (1) to what extent the process of defining 'normal or comparable pay' fell within EU and/or domestic law,
- (2) whether it was sufficient that the level of pay agreed between employers and employees did not dissuade employees from taking their annual leave,
- (3) was it a requirement that employees were paid either (a) precisely their 'normal' pay or (b) at a comparable level to their 'normal' pay, or was neither option explicitly required by EU law,
- (4) assuming one of the options suggested by question 3 was correct, what period of time is relevant in determining a worker's 'normal' pay,
- (5) assuming one of the options suggested by question 3 was correct, what approach should be taken when a level of pay is dependent on a worker's level of engagement in particular activities (i.e. flying), what approach should be taken when a statutory limit to the amount of engagement a worker is permitted to undertake would have been breached had the worker actually carried it out.
The European Court of Justice is yet to provide any answers to these questions, so it is not yet known if the pilots will succeed.
See Also
- 2010 Judgments of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom2010 Judgments of the Supreme Court of the United KingdomThis is a list of the judgments given by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in 2010 and statistics associated therewith. Since the Supreme Court began its work on 1 October 2009, this year was its first full year of operation. In total, 58 cases were heard in 2010.The table lists judgments...
- Employment law
- Working Time DirectiveWorking Time DirectiveThe Working Time Directive is a European Union Directive, which creates the right for EU workers to a minimum number of holidays each year, paid breaks, and rest of at least 11 hours in any 24 hours; restricts excessive night work; and makes a default right to work no more than 48 hours per week....
- British AirwaysBritish AirwaysBritish Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...