L Doherty Mr J O’ Donovan v Represented by: M s L O’Neill - Solicitor City of Glasgow College — 2017

The tribunal considered a complaint under section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 brought by Mr J O'Donovan, a Senior Lecturer at City of Glasgow College. The dispute was selected to proceed as a test case from a wider group of linked complaints, and the only material issue was whether clause 3 of the national collective agreement gave the claimant a contractual entitlement to the £100 payment said to be due in respect of the 2015/16 pay settlement.

The tribunal found that the agreement, read as a whole, linked clause 3 to clause 2's interim payment of 1%/£300 and to clause 1's two-year settlement period covering 2015/16. It held that the natural and ordinary meaning of the wording meant that the additional £100 was part of the 2015/16 settlement, and that the respondents' technical implementation notes could not override the contractual wording. The tribunal also treated the timing of the March 2016 negotiations and the background of the pay dispute as supporting that interpretation.

On that basis, the tribunal concluded that the £100 was contractually payable and that, because pay was treated as consolidated unless stated otherwise, the sum should have been reflected in the claimant's contractual pay. It therefore held that the respondents had failed to pay the amount properly due and upheld the unlawful deductions claim, ordering the respondents to pay the claimant £100.