Employer refusing to give me holiday pay

[AP0LL0]

Nearly 4 months ago I started working in a bar; 5 days a week, about 30 hours a week. It’s not a huge bar and a couple of other people started working there at the same time. We are all meant to have accrued a certain amount of holiday pay in the past four months that we worked there, though management are being sketchy about how much, I think I’m probably owed around 9 days? A few weeks ago I became aware that we have to use all our holiday before the end of the year, else we lose it. So I’ve been trying to find out from management how much holiday I have to use. All of us new starters weren’t really aware that we had to use or lose our holiday before the end of the year. We weren’t allowed to take holiday for the first 3 months we worked here as we were on probation. Now they are saying we can’t take holiday in December because it’s the busiest time of the year in a pub, which is fine, I understand that, but they are also saying they won’t pay us for the holiday we don’t take before the end of the year. So at the end of the year we lose our holiday, that we have never been given a chance to take, and they get to keep that money for themselves. One person working there started after us, he is still on probation till January, so he can’t use any of his holiday yet. Though he has worked there long enough to accrue a few days. But if he doesn’t use those days before the end of 2014 he loses the holiday and the bosses keep what he has earned. Doesn’t seem like they would be allowed to do this, what do you think we should do? None of us have signed contracts Thanks. Tom

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Re: Employer refusing to give me holiday pay

Nearly 4 months ago I started working in a bar; 5 days a week, about 30 hours a week. It’s not a huge bar and a couple of other people started working there at the same time. We are all meant to have accrued a certain amount of holiday pay in the past four months that we worked there, though management are being sketchy about how much, I think I’m probably owed around 9 days? A few weeks ago I became aware that we have to use all our holiday before the end of the year, else we lose it. So I’ve been trying to find out from management how much holiday I have to use. All of us new starters weren’t really aware that we had to use or lose our holiday before the end of the year. We weren’t allowed to take holiday for the first 3 months we worked here as we were on probation. Now they are saying we can’t take holiday in December because it’s the busiest time of the year in a pub, which is fine, I understand that, but they are also saying they won’t pay us for the holiday we don’t take before the end of the year. So at the end of the year we lose our holiday, that we have never been given a chance to take, and they get to keep that money for themselves. One person working there started after us, he is still on probation till January, so he can’t use any of his holiday yet. Though he has worked there long enough to accrue a few days. But if he doesn’t use those days before the end of 2014 he loses the holiday and the bosses keep what he has earned. Doesn’t seem like they would be allowed to do this, what do you think we should do? None of us have signed contracts Thanks. Tom

Bit of a tricky one is this to be honest, as you have no right to being paid for holidays not taken during your contracted holiday year period (period when company allows holidays), nor are you entitled to have non-taken holidays added to your entitlement for the following year. Though thats if your choose voluntarily to not take your holidays. If a company stops you then that's unreasonable and they have a duty to make sure (though it is voluntarily for the employee if they do take their holidays) you take your accrued holiday entitlement for the entire year before the end of the contracted holiday year that the company goes by!

But it all depends on what your contract of employment states regarding when holidays can be taken and can't be taken?

What does the contract state about what happens when the holiday year ends and you still have some accrued holiday left that was not taken? And what happens to those days or pay for those days?

Do you even have a written contract yet? if not they are in breach of the employment rights act 1996 and it would therefore be advisable that they pay you in lieu of allowing you to take your accrued holidays that they are not permitting you to take, or they will be in breach of contract and possibly working time regulations - But that's only if you have not been given a written contract or if your contract states nothing about not being able to take holidays in December!

Now how many days holiday are you entitled to between date you started and date the holiday year at your company ends? Use this online tool - https://www.gov.uk/calculate-your-holiday-entitlement