National minimum wage: deduction for repayment of training fees

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In DLA Piper's latest case report, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) considered that national minimum wage legislation is not breached when a deduction is made on termination for the repayment of the cost of a training course if the worker is responsible for the termination of his or her employment (typically, by resigning). Commissioners for Revenue and Customs v Lorne Stewart plc

Facts

When determining whether or not an employee has received the national minimum wage, certain payments and deductions must be taken into account when calculating the employee's average hourly rate of pay. Regulation 33(a) of the National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 provides that “any deduction in respect of conduct of the worker, or any other event, in respect of which he (whether together with any other workers or not) is contractually liable” should be excluded when calculating whether or not the employee has received the national minimum wage. The question in this case was whether or not the deduction of the cost of the training course should be taken into account when calculating the employee's average hourly rate for the purpose of calculating the national minimum wage.

EAT decision

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) issued a notice of underpayment against Lorne Stewart plc, which appealed to the employment tribunal. The tribunal decided that the deduction of the payment for the training course came