PSNI facing £40m bill in holiday pay legal case

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) could face a £40m bill after losing an appeal at the Supreme Court in a long-running case on holiday pay.

In 2019 the Court of Appeal upheld a tribunal finding that officers and civilian staff were owed for a holiday pay shortfall dating back to 1998.

The PSNI accepted that claimants were underpaid but challenged the period of time the settlements should cover.

Now the force's appeal against that judgement has been thrown out.

Supreme Court Justice Lady Rose said the decision to dismiss the appeal was unanimous.

The class action against the PSNI was taken by a group representing more than 3,700 police officers and civilian staff.

'Significant legal milestone'

Reacting to the ruling, the PSNI's assistant chief officer for corporate services Mark McNaughten said the organisation would have to work out how to pay a bill that could run to tens of millions of pounds.

"This appeal was progressed in order to seek a definitive ruling from the Supreme Court on difficult points of law and to help ensure that our officers and staff are fairly remunerated in line with our legal obligations," he said.

"We will now take time to study today's judgment in detail, consider the implications and how the costs will be met."

The PSNI is already facing huge budget problems as well as a leadership crisis, with Simon Byrne having resigned as chief constable last month.

PSNI officers and staff should now get what they are owed, says Police Federation chairman Liam Kelly

The Police Federation for Northern Ireland, which represents rank and file officers, said the holiday pay judgement was a "most significant legal milestone into securing what is due to thousands of officers".

"It might have been more prudent, and certainly more cost-effective, if the PSNI had accepted our position at first instance and laterally the Court of Appeal judgement in Belfast without taking this case to the Supreme Court," said federation chairman Liam Kelly.

"This is the end of the road for PSNI legally - their appeal has been resoundingly dismissed so the remedy process can now recommence."

'Claim over a number of years'

The judge said the PSNI's case had relied on a provision in the working time regulations which would "restrict the police officer claimants to claim only sums relating to holiday pay which they were paid in the three months before their claims were started before the industrial tribunal".

"The claimants say they can rely on an alternative provision in the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996," she added.

"This provision would allow them to claim underpayments arising from a series of payments provided that the last underpayment in the series was not more than three months before they brought their claim before the industrial tribunal.

"Of course if the claimants (police staff) can rely on the series extension then their claim can cover many more holidays they took in previous years, going back much further than just the three months before they lodged their claim."

The judge added that the industrial tribunal held that "all the clients could rely on the series extension and that most if not all the payments they had received were in a series for that purpose".

"So there is a very substantial difference between the value of the claim depending on whether they can rely on the series extension," said Lady Rose.

"That meant they could claim back over a number of years and not just over the most recent three months the employers unsuccessfully appealed to the Court of Appeal.

"The employers now appeal to the Supreme Court and the Supreme court unanimously dismisses that appeal."