Are legallyemployees entitled to a pay rise?

Many employees see their pay rises as part and parcel of the annual progression of their career, whether it is a reflection of moving up the ranks or just an annual

by Inbar Rabinovitz - Senior Associate

Pay rises have become all the more important to employees that are on PAYE because higher salaries go a long way to support individuals with the increasing costs of living and indeed the crisis that we are currently facing in that regard. In short, as everything else becomes more expensive, should employees not become more expensive too?

While many do take pay rises for granted, the question of whether they are a legal entitlement has come to the forefront as a result of the case of Ian Clifford against IBM. Mr Clifford claimed that he has been on sick leave since 2008, when he was last able to work, and that throughout the 15 years that he has been off sick, he has not received any pay increases. He alleged that the fact that he has not received a pay rise in all of those years amounted to unfavourable treatment of him because of his disability and thus amounted to discrimination arising from his disability (initially mental ill-health and later diagnosed with stage 4 leukaemia, both of which could qualify as disabilities under the Equality Act 2010).

Interestingly, the Tribunal held that Mr Clifford was not discriminated against as he did not suffer a detriment – he was receiving payments under the company’s disability plans which is why he remained employed during this period (we presume) but the Plan’s payments did not increase in a number of years and that appears to have been the real issue. Mr Clifford was not placed at a detriment because actually, only those that are disabled could have received the benefit of the disability plan in any event.

So the main question remainsshould Mr Clifford have received pay increases as a legal right?

The short answer is no. The Employment Rights Act 1996, or indeed any other relevant legislation, does not give an employee a legal right to receive a pay increase. We have legislation that require an employee to be paid above minimum wage (e.g. the National Minimum Wage Act 1998) which continues to update annually and increase the minimum an employee can be paid, but that is the extent of the available legislation on the matter. It means that an employee is not automatically entitled to a pay rise, as much as it would be an ideal to get one.