McGavigan v Western Urgent Care [2018]

The claimant worked as a receptionist and porter. He was contractually required to work a certain number of basic hours per month and was further entitled to receive pay enhancements for working unsocial hours.

The respondent failed to increase the claimant’s hourly rate of pay as it was required to do once he turned 21 as per the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015. The respondent argued that after totalling all the actual hours worked, the average hourly rate exceeded £7.20. They also argued that any payments for unsocial hours were ‘discretionary,’ and amounted to a ‘bonus’ payment that could not be considered part of the contract of employment.

Issues arose when the respondent