Augustine v Data Cars Ltd – Supreme Court Update
Does the reason for less favourable treatment of part-time workers need to be the sole cause for a claim to succeed?
This update to our previous blog considers the Supreme Court’s decision and clarifies when less favourable treatment of part-time workers will be unlawful under the Part-Time Workers Regulations 2000.
In Augustine v Data Cars Ltd, the issue of less favourable treatment for part-time workers was put through the pinball machine of the civil courts appeal system.
For the uninitiated, part-time workers have a right not to be subjected to detriment under Regulation 5 of the Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000. Regulation 5(2) elaborates that the treatment will be unlawful if:
- The treatment is on the grounds of working part time.
- The treatment is not objectively justified.
This case considers whether working part-time must be the sole reason, or merely the operative reason, for the treatment in question.
What happened?
- Augustine was a part-time taxi driver for Data Cars. Taxi drivers are typically not employees but can be workers.
- Data Cars operated a fixed weekly radio fee for all drivers; this fee was to give driver’s access to the dispatch of new fares.
- The fee was the same regardless of hour many hours the driver worked or fares the driver picked up.
- Augustine complained that the flat radio fee put him at a disadvantage as the hourly cost of this was higher for him as a part-time worker than it was for a full-time driver.
The Employment Tribunal dismissed the claim. It held the flat fee was not charged because the Claimant worked part time. It was just a blanket policy. Therefore, the treatment was not on the grounds of working part time.
The Claimant appealed through the Employment Appeals Tribunal, Court of Appeal and finally the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court held that the unfavourable did not need be the sole cause, just the effective one. Therefore, the blanket fee was less favourable treatment and unlawful.
This case can have quite a few universal applications beyond radio fees for taxi drivers. Part-time workers often receive different rules for bonuses, benefits, holiday entitlement (particularly bank holidays), and shift patterns.
