In this important case, the European Court has ruled that holiday pay must not be reduced for workers who ordinarily receive commission. It makes no difference that, as in the case of Mr Lock, an Internal Energy Sales Consultant for British Gas, the commission was paid during his holiday periods - his inability to earn commission whilst on leave was a disincentive to take annual leave - which is an EU right from which there is no derogation permitted for Member States. Payment and leave are inextricably linked:

"Directive 2003/88 [Organisation of working time] treats entitlement to annual leave and to a payment on that account as being two aspects of a single right. The purpose of providing payment for that leave is to put the worker, during such leave, in a position which is, as regards his salary, comparable to periods of work..."

This decision is consistent with related case law on remuneration for annual leave:

"...the Court has stated that all components of total remuneration relating to the professional and personal status of the worker must continue to be paid during his paid annual leave. Thus, any allowances relating to seniority, length of service and to professional qualifications must be maintained (see, to that effect, Case C 471/08 Parviainen EU:C:2010:391, paragraph 73, and Williams and Others EU:C:2011:588, paragraph 27)."

The Court also ruled that the methods of calculating the commission to which a worker, such as the applicant in the main proceedings, is entitled in respect of his annual leave must be assessed by the national court or tribunal on the basis of the rules and criteria set out by the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and in the light of the objective pursued by Article 7 of Directive 2003/88.
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* Practical lessons from this decision:

Recent jurisprudence from the Court of Justice all points to the absolute protection of workers' rights in relation to paid leave under the organisation of working time directive. Any disincentives, such as reduced pay when on leave, no right to carry over leave when sick, or (as in this case) reduced remuneration after a leave period due to the inability to earn commission whilst on leave, will likely be ruled unlawful, if challenged. The current 1997 Irish Act should be considered in the light of this and other CJEU decisions. Any employer who does not pay average commission for holidays, where it is earned during working time, should take legal advice and revisit their policies. Public sector employers are particularly vulnerable to challenge under EU-derived laws.