You may have heard of the recent court rulings which determined that all workers are entitled to holiday pay based on their normal pay. Normal pay includes overtime and premium payments, not just basic contractual pay.
Usdaw welcomes the decision as we believe that members should not lose out financially when taking annual leave. The Union agrees that holiday pay should be calculated on normal pay and not just basic contractual pay.
The Union believes that workers should get normal pay for their full holiday entitlement. However, the recent judgements only cover the first four week’s leave which is in line with the provisions of the Working Time Directive set by Europe. The decisions do not cover the additional 1.6 weeks granted through the UK legislation or any additional contractual holiday entitlement.
Usdaw has carefully studied the most recent court ruling as we want to ensure that our members receive the correct level of holiday pay. The impact of the ruling on members will be different dependent on the agreement they are covered by.
In a number of agreements, Usdaw has already agreed arrangements where holiday pay is based on average pay/P60 earnings. Where this is not the case, and in businesses where Usdaw is recognised, the Union has approached and is in discussion with employers over holiday pay calculations.
As you can imagine, the court ruling on holiday pay has thrown up a number of complex issues. The Union is working to secure the best outcome for our members and to ensure that employers move to holiday pay based on average pay as quickly as possible.
The courts have also looked at whether claims for underpayment of holiday pay should be backdated. Unfortunately, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has placed significant restrictions and strict limits on the ability to make backdated claims. These restrictions mean that the majority of members will not have a potential claim for substantial backpay.
The Union’s officials are working to ensure that employers move to holiday pay based on average pay as quickly as possible.
February 2015
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Bank Holidays - the statutory minimum