The Supreme Court has given its decision
in Harper Trust v Brazel and confirmed that
“part-year” workers are entitled to have their
statutory leave and pay calculated in line with
the relevant provisions in the Working Time
Regulations 1998 (WTR) and not the widely
used 12.07% Method.
This decision will be of most interest to employers in
the education sector, where it is more common to have
individuals who only work and are paid for part of the year but
have a contract in place throughout it. It is possible, however,
that it may prompt challenges from other workers who work
irregular hours and currently have their pay calculated in
accordance with the 12.07% Method, though in most cases
the monetary difference between the two is likely to be
marginal in the extreme.
