Holiday allowance - agency work

[EmilyB]

Hello,
I have been temping since last September for an agency, at the same company. I applied for a job working 5 12-hour night shifts pw, but at the interview was told that the shifts would have to be booked on a day to day basis, and that I was not guaranteed 5 shifts pw. While I was filling the paperwork (checking I could read, write, answer basic questions about equipment etc.) I overheard a consultant telling a caller who was applying for the job that they would only accept people who were available to work f/t. He stressed that there were no p/t jobs available for that company.

I should have started the next week but the agency didn't contact me. I chased them and they told me that they thought the distance from the bus stop was too far away for me to walk and that they preferred car drivers or people who could take the company shuttle. The bus stop is 10 minutes' walk away from the factory, and as it's a factory job, there is quite a lot of walking involved! I insisted and got the job, or so I thought.

I never managed to get more than 4 shifts pw and sometimes went 1 or 2 weeks without any shifts whatsoever. I was variously told that there was no work available that night, or that my shift was cancelled (sometimes, when I was already there). Every day, I had to check my phone between 8am and 2pm to see whether I was going to be booked for the next night (6pm to 6am), which didn't leave much time for sleeping. There was one instance when the agency tried to cancel a shift when I was already in the canteen, getting ready, another instance when 3 of us were not on the list (we did get paid) and yet another instance when, according to the agency, the company told them I did not show up. I told the shift manager the next time I had a shift, he told me he sent HR an email, but I still haven't been paid for that shift. That was in December last year (and I am paid on a weekly basis).

I haven't been given any shifts whatsoever since the end of January. The company have also refused to let me use my holiday allowance (I tried to book a day off in January back in November, in order to go to the dentist - I didn't fancy having a dental check up, and possibly work on cavities, between 2 12-hour night shifts). They just don't answer any emails or letters, and if I ask for a leave verbally, they tell me I have to put it in writing. They have also postponed auto enrolling me, twice. The second time, I wrote to them asking to be auto enrolled, using the exact wording they said they needed. I haven't had a single shift since then.

The managers wanted me to get a permanent contract and have asked HR to contact me but I haven't heard from them. I am afraid it's because I'm an oldie (half centenarian) and I have been living with cancer for several years now. I lost my job in the financial industry because of it several years ago (even though I hadn't taken any sickies) and I have been unable to find steady work since then. I have just been told by a recruitment agency that they couldn't give me a job near where I live because I would have to take the bus (1 hour commute door to door, 8-hour work day) and the company only wanted people who lived 'on their doorstep'. Considering they are located in an industrial zone, even if I lived in the same town, I'd have to walk for at least half an hour to get there, so it's just a pretext.

I don't want to apply for benefits but I am in a lot of debt (including housing debt) so I need an income.

How can I force that agency to let me 'take' my holiday allowance? They are not giving me any shifts, so it's not like it's not convenient for them to let me go on holiday!!!!! I had the same problem where I worked previously, 4 months temping, initially 4 12-hour shifts out of 8, then 5 and eventually 6 12-hour shifts out of 8. Half my team resigned 2 months after I started and the company didn't manage to hire people to replace them so I couldn't book any leaves whatsoever, then I was offered a permanent contract, which I took, but after 4 months working 6 12-hour shifts out of 8, walking to work too (1 hour and a half each way) as there was no transport in the morning and I could seldom afford the bus fare in the evening as my landlady kept increasing my rent, I was exhausted, and as I could not get any leaves (they were systematically refused by my manager, even though she let people people who started after me go on holiday twice 2 weeks during that period) I ended up resigning. HR didn't pay me the accrued holiday, which made me quite angry and I was too busy applying for work elsewhere to fight
them.

I don't think the agency I have been temping with since September are going to give me any more work and I don't think the company are going to give me a permanent contract either. The managers asked HR before Xmas, 2 months and a half ago. I wonder whether it is even worth contacting HR directly. From what I've heard the permanent staff say, I don't think they are
very 'honest'.

How do I go about getting my paid 'holiday'? I only have until the end of the financial tax year to 'take' it...

Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post.

[ULA]

Can I just ask for the current jog you are working at, are you paid by the agency or the company you are working for?

You also mention not being paid accrued holiday for a job you worked at for 4 months as a permanent employee when you left. When did you leave them and if it was less than the three month time limit (less one day) then you could make a claim for what they owe you? Appreciate the process can be a bit stressful but you do have a way if you are within the time limit.

[EmilyB]

Hello, thanks for reaching out.
I left the company I worked for previously nearly 1 year ago. I worked there through an agency for 4 months (they didn't let me use any of the holiday allowance) then got a permanent contract and worked a further 4 months, paid directly by the company. It never felt like a permanent role, I had to wait 2 1/2 months to get payslips (even though we were paid on a weekly basis), despite asking 3 times, and Payroll deducted pension contributions from my salary but didn't pay them to their pension provider until 1 month after I had left...
The agency I have been temping with have finally agreed to let me take my 'holiday' but they are also sending me a P45, claiming they have little work. Essentially, it's revenge because I insisted on getting more shifts. The job I had applied for was for 5 shifts pw, over the past 23 weeks, I have gotten less than 2 shifts pw on average, and no shifts at all in February. The 5th shift would have been overtime too, paid 150% of standard rate, so I only earned 40% of the amount advertised on the job I applied to, and I had to be available 7 nights pw because I was told of the shifts on a day to day basis. When looking at the advert, I did think 'Too good to be true' ... I arm really, really angry that they have treated me like this.
I am looking for work elsewhere but I have already been told (after chasing) by another agency that I didn't have the profile for a job closer to home, with a shorter commute (I could actually have walked to work, I used to work nearby a decade ago and walked or cycled every day, including during the winter), and more friendly hours, and I'm sure it's because they called the agency to ask for a reference.
Thanks again for pitching in, I've felt really lonely dealing with this agency over the past 6 months, and the previous agencies I've temped with in the UK were no better.

[ULA]

I am sorry to hear you have had such a problem with the agencies you have been working for. I wish you all the best.