Holidays – have your cake and eat it!

It is that time of year again, where we are all packing our suitcases and heading off for a break away from the hum drum of life.  Whether you are boarding a plane, or enjoying a staycation, the last thing on your mind is work …

…and what better time for the Supreme Court to publish their Judgement in relation to the pay that your staff should receive whilst they are on holiday?

You may have received emails about the case of Harper Trust v Brazel already, but I bet they aren’t as simple and straight forward as this one.

So, what actually has this case changed?  Does it apply to you?  Read on for my quick review:

1. This case relates to holiday pay ONLY, not accrual of holiday.
2. It applies to staff whose hours of work are variable i.e. that change or fluctuate.
3. It applies to staff who are under a permanent contract i.e. one that lasts all year.
4. It doesn’t apply to annualised hours staff.
5. The decision isn’t new – the Court of Appeal said this in 2018!
6. If you use the 12.07% method to calculate holidays for your casual staff; you are doing it wrong and need to review it.
7. The only correct way to calculate holiday pay for these types of workers, is to calculate the average pay over the 52 weeks before the holiday is taken – but ignore weeks in which no work has been done.
8. Therefore, whilst weeks when employed but no work is done count when calculating holiday accrual, they aren’t used in the calculation for holiday pay i.e. non-working weeks are excluded.
9. This isn’t new law – remember that case law just interprets the existing law, so this does open the door to backpay claims.
10. These types of workers can have their cake and eat it under the legislation!

I bet you haven’t had it explained that simply before?  It really doesn’t need to be long or complex.  As I say, all you guys need are those little nuggets of information to help you do your job in your business.

If you think you may be affected by this Judgement, give me a bell to chat through how we can manage this in your business #happytohelp.

Emma Tice, Head of Employment Law and HR

E-mail: Emma.Tice@bmcprecept.com

Phone: 07469 153048