What we all knew about Bear Scotland v Fulton

In Bear Scotland v Fulton, a case concerning holiday pay, the EAT held that claims for a number of unlawful deductions from wages could not be brought as a ‘series of deductions’ if the gap between deductions was more than three months.  This decision was widely criticised as not being sound, and the Supreme Court agrees.

In Chief Constable of Police Service of Northern Ireland v Agnew, the Supreme Court concluded that while a claim must be brought within three months of the final unlawful deduction, there is no such time limit between each separate deduction in the series.

Currently, the Deduction from Wages (Limitation) Regulations 2014, impose a two year backstop on unlawful deduction claims.

This is a topic that we’ll be discussing on Law on Tour in November, so please visit our Law on Tour webpage or contact us at klc@klcemploymentlaw.com  to find out more.