Time's Up For Offshore Workers' Time Off Cases

Today the Supreme Court has handed down its decision in Russell and others v Transocean International Resources Limited (Scotland) that annual leave for offshore workers can be taken out of onshore "field breaks".

Holiday slides from the lower courts

The Supreme Court's decision brings to an end litigation stretching back to October 2007 when the Aberdeen Employment Tribunal ("ET") first heard the "sample" cases of seven workers (taken from a cast of hundreds), all of whom worked on offshore installations on a roster of 2/3 weeks offshore followed by a corresponding amount of time on onshore field break. All seven workers had had their holiday requests denied by their employers, since they had asked to take their holidays during their offshore working cycle rather than during onshore field break.