This was a long running case involving breach of contract claims brought by investment bank employees after it had been announced by the bank that the employees would be entitled to participate in a guaranteed minimum bonus pool subject to individual performance only. This announcement having been made in order to stabilise the workforce following the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the decision to separate the retail and investment divisions of the bank.

There were a number of legal issues decided almost 2 years after the High Court first held that the claims had no realistic prospect of success. The decision by the High Court was not ground breaking but instead applied well known legal principles of contract law, eventually deciding in favour of the employees that the bank was under a contractual obligation to pay the remainder of their bonus, which had been reduced by 90%.

Following the judgement employers should continue to be careful when making announcements to their workforce in particular when referring to discretionary bonuses as the content of such announcements may amount to a binding contract with staff which cannot be easily withdrawn. The case also emphasises the importance of attempting to anticipate events as far as possible when putting forward proposals or making changes to contractual terms, especially if they are as a result of a specific event, for example by offering a retention bonus or other incentive in order to stabilise the workforce.