Ms Anne Symons v McCurrach UK Ltd — 2024

Ms Anne Symons brought a claim about a bonus. The tribunal found she started work on 5 September 2022 and had been sent an offer letter referring to a discretionary bonus scheme. In April 2023 the respondent changed the scheme so that an employee had to still be employed when the bonus was paid. Staff were asked to read and confirm the revised terms, and the claimant emailed to say she understood and accepted them. She earned commission for the period 1 January 2023 to 30 June 2023, and the bonus under the scheme was due to be paid on 25 August 2023.

The claimant gave notice in June 2023 and left on 14 July 2023. The respondent paid the bonus only to staff who had earned it and were still employed on 25 August 2023. The claimant had earned a bonus but was not paid because she was no longer employed on the payment date. The tribunal recorded that the relevant facts were not in dispute and that the main issue was the claimant's fairness argument.

On breach of contract, the tribunal held the bonus scheme was not part of the contract of employment. It was a discretionary scheme offered annually, so the claimant had no contractual right to the bonus and that claim was dismissed. On unlawful deduction from wages, the tribunal referred to section 13 of the Employment Rights Act and accepted that a bonus can form part of wages, but held that the bonus was not properly payable because the claimant satisfied only the earning criterion and not the requirement to be employed when payment was made. The tribunal noted the claimant said she had no choice but to accept the revised terms, but found she was not coerced into agreement. The claim was dismissed.