ETZ 4(WR) EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS (SCOTLAND) Case No: 8001490/2024 Hearing by Cloud Video Platform at Edinburgh on and February 2025 Employment Judge: M A Macleod Mr F Frulio v Spire Global UK Limited — 2025

The claimant, Mr Frulio, was employed by Spire Global UK Limited from November 2022 as General Manager and Global Head of Space Services Division. His contract set a salary of £253,000 and said he would be eligible for an annual performance bonus plan with an annual on-target bonus initially set at 60% per year, subject to company performance and individual goals. The tribunal found that the wording of the contract did not guarantee payment of a bonus each year, and that the bonus position remained dependent on performance and the employer's later adoption of a company-wide plan.

In November 2023, the then CEO wrote to the leadership team stating that anticipated performance bonus payouts for the 2023 financial year would be "suspended for now" because the company's performance had not met expectations. The claimant's email of 3 January 2024 said he understood the rationale, supported the move, and asked to move back to the United States on a US-based contract for personal financial reasons. The tribunal held that this email showed acceptance of the suspension at that stage, and it was not persuaded that any later conversations with Theresa Condor-Platzer amounted to a commitment that the 2023 bonus would definitely be paid.

The tribunal found that an Employee Short-Term Incentive Plan, effective from 1 January 2023 and approved on 1 May 2023, formed part of the contractual arrangements as a company-wide bonus plan. It treated that plan as making the award discretionary, with the Authorized Officers deciding whether awards were made, to whom, and on what terms. The tribunal accepted the respondent's evidence that no senior leader received a 2023 bonus and that the company's performance for 2023 was below expectations; it also noted evidence that the claimant's own performance had fallen below target, although the claimant disputed that and said delivery problems elsewhere in the business affected results.

On that basis, the tribunal held that the claimant had not proved that the 2023 bonus was "properly payable" and therefore had not shown an unlawful deduction from wages under Part II of the Employment Rights Act 1996. It dismissed the claim. The tribunal briefly addressed time bar, observing that while the claim was presented outside the usual three-month period, the November 2023 suspension meant it would not have been in the interests of justice to find the claim time-barred; however, the merits finding made that issue unnecessary to determine.