Labour Court recommends no clawback of ABB Transformers’ 1997 bonus overpayments

The Labour Court recommended that Abb Transformers Limited make no clawback for 1997 under its EAFI bonus scheme. Its recommendation was dated 9 October 1998. The Services Industrial Professional Technical Union said the scheme did not provide for clawback and that a December 1997 presentation led staff to expect a £500 year-end payment. The company said employees had received average-overtime payments for the first half of the year and sought to recover overpayments after completing the bonus calculations. The Court said a 1995 meeting minute provided for the greater of average overtime or EAFI in each six-month period, capped at £250 per period. It found the company’s December presentation could only be understood as promising a £500 year-end payment and said the company was responsible for the misunderstanding.