Scotland - Holiday pay / Commission ??

[Amethyst]

Wonder if this will turn into a new CMC ploy to relieve consumers of their money?

The small and medium-sized companies that make up the backbone of British industry are facing multi-million pound bills that could drive many of them out of business because of a European court ruling.

The European Court of Justice in May gave British workers the right to claim for holiday pay and overtime they are owed running back to 1998 under the Working Time Directive.

For the first time, research by EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, has put a figure on the scale of the claims. It estimates that an SME in the manufacturing sector with a £30m annual revenue can expect to face a £2.5m bill, with National Insurance and pension contributions adding on a potential £250,000.

Over a four-year period SMEs could face costs of £4m, EEF economists estimate, with the EU ruling likely to add an extra 4pc a company’s payroll.

Worker’s ability to claim for owed pay relates to how Britain interpreted the Working Time Directive. The EU court’s ruling brought Britain into line with Europe, which followed the directive’s instruction that workers should get four weeks of paid holiday a year.

If you are paid less than your normal pay when you take a holiday then you might have a claim against your employer worth thousands of pounds.

You will have a claim if you normally receive additional payments on top of your basic salary. These might include payments for:

Commission;
Regular Bonus;
Overtime (whether contractual or not);
Shift allowance;
Nightshift payments
On-call allowance;
Unsociable hours payments; or
Any other payment linked to carrying out your job.

If your employer stops making these payments during periods of annual leave then you will have a claim. Due to a recent change in the law, it is unlawful for your employer to pay you basic pay when you are on holiday. If your employer has not been paying you in the correct way, you can ask the Employment Tribunal to order your employer to pay you the difference between what you have been paid and what you should have been paid. You may be entitled to claim for any underpayments going back to 1998.

It doesn’t matter what job you do. You might be working in a call centre and receiving commission for any sales you make. You might be working in a care home and receiving an allowance for when you work at night or at weekends. It doesn’t matter who your employer is- do not assume that because you work for a big employer with an HR department that they have been paying you in the right way- the chances are, they have not.

There are very strict time limits which apply to your claim so it is important to act now. Once your employer is aware that you or your colleagues are thinking about making a claim, they may take steps to try and stop you claiming back all the money you have lost.