ELAS wins appeal against pub residency ‘extra hours’
A brewery has won a landmark Employment Tribunal case over paying pub managers for the time they spend off-duty living in the pub, in a case which it said could have proved a “death knell” to the already struggling industry.
J.W.Lees & Co.(Brewers) Ltd was fighting a case brought by the temporary manager of a pub in Tameside, Greater Manchester, who claimed she should have been paid at least National Minimum Wage for providing extra security, supervision and cleaning while off-duty and through the night.
But Mr Justice Underhill, the President of the Employment Appeal Tribunal, hearing the case on appeal after her original Tribunal ruled against her, saying that once the pub had closed for the evening and the attendant duties completed, there was no contractual requirement from J.W.Lees & Co.(Brewers) Ltd for the manager to undertake any further duties until the pub reopened the following day.
Peter Mooney, of business support provider, ELAS, which represented the brewery, said: “This was a hugely important case which, had the appeal been successful, could have become a death knell hundreds of pubs across the country.
“The claimant said she was working additional hours, over and above those covered by her salary, which meant that she was earning less than the National Minimum Wage, but this had not been accepted by the Employment Tribunal, which had heard her original claim.
“Because her job description from the brewery required her to live at the pub,
she said she should receive additional payment for providing a 24 hour on-hand security, supervisory, and cleaning service but Mr Justice Underhill quite rightly ruled against this.”
Peter Mooney argued that unlike Nursing or Care Homes or in situations where employees are by their terms and conditions required to sleep at their place of work or be on call, there was no such requirement in this case, or any such obligation on any pub manager. In terms of security, there is no difference between the manager of a pub living on the premises or anyone else, whether they live in a pub, house or flat, having to be vigilant about security to protect the property they live in.
For more information about ELAS’s employment law services visit www.elas.uk.com or telephone 08450 50 40 60.
