Ms A Gardner v Riskcare Ltd — 2024

Ms A Gardner brought a claim for unlawful deduction from wages arising from a bonus dispute. She said the Respondent changed the bonus scheme in September 2023, which substantially reduced the amount of bonus she would receive, and claimed £13,362.53. The Respondent said the bonus was discretionary and was not an amount properly payable for the purposes of section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

The tribunal reviewed the employment documents and the bonus materials produced for different years. The 2022 contract said the bonus was payable at the company’s absolute discretion and that any bonus was purely discretionary and did not form part of contractual remuneration. The tribunal also considered earlier bonus documents and accepted that, although the same percentages had applied for a period, the scheme had changed over time and had been framed by the Respondent as a way of directing sales effort to current business priorities.

The tribunal found that the bonus scheme was not contractual but discretionary. It held that the wording of the documents showed an intention that the scheme could be changed, and that the Respondent had in fact altered the structure from time to time to suit business needs. It rejected the Claimant’s case that the 5% and 3% rates had become contractual through repetition over time.

On that basis, the tribunal held that the bonus amount claimed was not properly payable to the Claimant. The unlawful deduction from wages claim therefore failed and was dismissed.