It has just been announced that the European Court of
Justice's decision on this question, in the case of Lock v
British Gas Trading Limited and others, will be available on
22 May 2014.
This decision is important as it will provide a clear authority
for Employment Tribunals to follow on this important question of
whether average commission payments need to be taken into account
when calculating holiday pay under the Working Time Directive. Mr.
Lock has argued that it ought to be taken into account.
The Advocate General agreed when he delivered his opinion in
December 2013 on this matter. This opinion (which is not binding)
suggested that holiday pay should include an amount that
reflects average commission earned over a certain period. This was
because commission payments were said to be intrinsically linked to
the work done. It was also relevant that employees may be deterred
from taking annual leave if their holiday pay did not take account
of commission
