Mr Greig Paterson v Represented by Ms A Bowman,15 Solicitor SSE Contracting Limited — 2020

Mr Paterson worked for SSE Contracting Limited from 27 July 2009 until 14 June 2019 as an electrician. His statement of employment particulars described the contract as an abridged version of the Direct Staff (Non-Lighting Services) JNC agreement, and it dealt with travelling and other expenses, but it did not expressly refer to the SJIB for travel. The respondent's evidence was that Scottish employees had been paid according to SJIB rates for wages and travel since around 2007 for business reasons.

The tribunal found that the documentary position had not been set out with complete clarity, but it accepted that the practice in Scotland was to pay travel in line with the SJIB arrangement. It noted the weekly timesheets and travel forms, which referred to SJIB and to the relevant mileage bands, and the January 2017 presentation to staff explaining the change to the mileage-based travel regime. Although the claimant said he did not understand the position until late 2018, the tribunal found that he was aware of the controversy for some years and placed little weight on the delay in raising his own grievance.

Applying the contractual and implied-term arguments advanced by the parties, the tribunal held that the claimant should have been aware before the 2017 changes that SJIB regulated travel expenses, and in any event the presentation made the position clear. It found that staff, including the claimant, had accepted the SJIB arrangement through their conduct and by continuing to work and submit weekly travel claims without protest. On that basis, the tribunal dismissed the breach of contract claim.

The parties had agreed that, if the claimant had succeeded, the quantum would have been £13,608.70. No award was made because the claim was dismissed.