Ms L Perkins v British Airways plc — 2022

The claimant brought claims alleging non-payment of contractual flying pay said to be worth £2,500 and non-payment for banked annual leave. The respondent relied on a settlement agreement dated 28 August 2020, entered shortly before the claimant's employment ended by redundancy on 31 August 2020, and argued that the claims had been compromised.

The Tribunal found that the settlement agreement satisfied the statutory requirements for a valid settlement agreement under section 203(3) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and regulation 35(3) of the Working Time Regulations 1998. It held that claims for unauthorised deduction from wages and breach of contract concerning contractual flying pay, and claims for unauthorised deduction from wages or under the Working Time Regulations concerning holiday pay, had been compromised and were dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.

The Tribunal also found that the agreement itself provided for payment of any outstanding untaken holiday. Because the agreement was made before termination and governed the terms on which employment ended, the Tribunal held that it had jurisdiction under the Employment Tribunals (Extension of Jurisdiction) (England and Wales) Order 1994 to consider a breach of contract claim alleging non-payment of sums due under the agreement. The claimant had not provided the ordered details or evidence of the holiday pay claim, so a strike out warning was directed rather than a final merits decision on that claim.