No guarantee payment where short week agreed (News, 22 October 2012)

Article summary

An employee is entitled under statute to a 'guarantee payment' for any day throughout which he would normally be required to work in accordance with his contract of employment but on which his employer does not (for specified reasons) provide him with work. However, where an employee has agreed to a contractual variation under which he works fewer days per week than before, eg under which he works a four-day week instead of a five-day week, not working on Fridays, he will not be entitled to claim a guarantee payment for the Fridays on which he does not work, because (a) he would not 'normally be required to work' on those Fridays 'in accordance with his contract of employment', and (b) no guarantee payment is payable in respect of any day on which there are 'no normal working hours'. This is so even if the contractual variation is only to apply temporarily for a limited period, after which the contract will...