9. HOURS OF WORK

Changes and developments since last year

• negotiations between the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the employers’ organisation Business Europe on a revision of the European Working Time Directive took place throughout 2012 but failed to reach agreement;

• the Supreme Court decision in British Airways Plc v Williams [2012] UKSC 43; [2012] IRLR 1014, a case representing claims by 2,750 pilots, has implications throughout and beyond the aviation industry and has prompted a call for trade union representatives to review the holiday pay provisions in their workplaces;

• the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 was used in a prosecution against two former road haulage directors who pleaded guilty to conspiring with drivers to make false tachograph records. It was found that they had benefited by more than £10 million from illegal activity that undercut their competitors’ deliveries on cost and time;

• the 2013 Construction Industry Joint Council agreement will introduce a new rule to help rid the industry of the practice of “rolling-up” holiday pay — following Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) guidance pointing out that is unlawful to pay holiday pay as part of the hourly rate of pay.