The calculation of holiday pay has been an issue of much debate; a great deal of time has been spent discussing the consistency of UK law, the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) and what is meant by workers being paid “normal remuneration” whilst on paid holiday as required by the legislation.
The courts had previously agreed that compulsory and guaranteed overtime should be taken into account when calculating “normal remuneration”, even when there was a normal working pattern. The issue put to rest in the aforementioned Flowers case was whether the same treatment should be afforded to overtime that was neither guaranteed nor compulsory.
The Court of Appeal held in favour of the ambulance drivers, concluding that where there are normal working hours, normal remuneration does include non-guaranteed and voluntary overtime (provided this overtime is sufficiently regular and paid over a significant period). It is worth noting that this only applies to statutory paid holiday under Regulation 13 of the Working Time Regulations and not to the additional eight days provided for workers under Regulation 13A, or any other contractual holiday. The provisions of the UK legislation govern paid leave over and above the 20, and so if the workers have normal working hours, their holiday pay calculation for those days does not have to include non-guaranteed nor non-compulsory overtime. Many employers, however, chose to treat additional leave in the same way as the 20 days under the EWTD rather than applying different calculations, which can prove too complex and create more work! Ultimately, however, it’s a commercial decision for employers to make.
Finally, it is worth remembering that from April 2020, the current 12-week reference period used to calculate statutory holiday pay will increase to 52 weeks.
For more information
We have worked with a significant number of providers assisting them to ensure holiday pay compliance – including undertaking audits of existing arrangements and assisting with the implementation of the new ways of working. If you require advice on this issue, please contact Faye Rush.
It has been another difficult few weeks for many of us, especially those who find themselves under tier 3 restrictions.
We have submitted our response to the White Paper Consultation based on the discussion held at the “Planning for the Future - what does this mean for affordable housing” webinar we held on Fri 9 Oct
Anthony Collins Solicitors is pleased to have been ranked as a Band 1 firm once again.
Since March 2020, commercial property owners and occupiers across many sectors, whether housing associations, charities, care providers or local authorities, have been impacted by the rules regulating how they deal with their tenants and their landlords. It seems each week there is a change in policy, regulation or legislation, governing how they must respond.
On 18 September 2020, the High Court gave its decision regarding the Judicial Review of Simply Learning Tutor Agency Ltd & Others v Secretary of State for Business.
A key element of the Bill is the establishment of a duty holder regime and requirement to maintain the ‘golden thread of information’ throughout the life cycle of high-risk residential buildings
We have been working with care homes to update their contracts and advise on the risks of charging the resident a regular “top-up” or additional fee where a resident is funded through NHS CHC
The parliamentary processes are complete and the Restriction of Public Exit Payments Regulations 2020 (“the Regulations”) which cap exit payments in the public sector at £95,000 will be in force from 4 November.
As the UK’s social housing sector recovers from the initial Covid-19 outbreak and lockdown, now is the time to focus on the challenges that may emerge next.
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