Craig Patterson said that following this ruling, businesses should do three things:
• if they haven't already done so, health-check their payment practices and make sure they are compliant; • assess their potential liability if they identified a current or historic issue; and • consider or take advice on how they wish to proceed.
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Holiday pay claims increase since tribunal fees abolished 23 July 2019
New TUC analysis reveals that 1 in 14 workers are not getting their legal holiday entitlement, workers are missing out on £3.1bn of paid leave each year and over a million workers are getting no paid leave at all.
It is little wonder that more people are taking holiday pay claims through the courts. According to the TUC the number of people taking unpaid holiday claims has more than doubled since tribunal fees were abolished in 2017, following a legal victory by UNISON.
The majority of holiday pay cases are found in the claimant’s favour, with values ranging from £18.94 to £11,000. Most are for a few hundred pounds.
The analysis estimates that nearly two million employees (1.960 m) are not getting the minimum paid leave entitlement they are due. And over a million (1.145 m) are not getting any paid leave at all.
The TUC says the main reasons people are missing out are:
• Workers being set unrealistic workloads that do not allow time to take leave. • Employers deliberately denying holiday requests and managing out people’s leave. • Employers not keeping up to date with the law.
Minimum holiday entitlements are a vital part of reducing overwork, says the TUC. People who work excessive hours are at risk of developing heart disease, stress, mental illness, strokes, and diabetes, which also impacts on co-workers, friends, and relatives.
The TUC wants HMRC to be granted new powers to clamp down on employers who deny staff their statutory holiday entitlement. This would include the power to ensure that workers are fully compensated for missed holidays.
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Holiday pay calculations for term-time workers 8 August 2019
The Court of Appeal has held that holiday pay for a teacher in permanent employment but working term-time only on irregular hours, should be calculated based on a 12-week average of hours worked.
Daniel Barnett’s employment law bulletin summarises the case of The Harpur Trust v Brazel:
The Claimant is a music teacher in permanent employment but working term-time only, on irregular hours (around 32) per week. The EAT held that her holiday pay should be calculated based on a 12-week average of hours worked, making, on her hours, holiday pay around 17.5% of annual pay, rather than 12.07% for staff working a whole year (based on 5.6/46.4 weeks).
The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
Payroll: need to know
cipp.org.uk
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