Whats my holiday entitlement?

Question

I work any 5 days over 7, and my holiday entitlement is the standard 4 weeks. I recently took a fortnights holiday, I worked the Monday, and went on Tuesday. My flight got back at about 4 am on Wednesday morning but work expected me in at 2pm on the Wed for work, ten hours after I got off the plane, and to work 5 days wed - sun. My boss says mon and tue are my two days off. I'm arguing this is wrong, monday and tuesday are paid holidays and i should have days off on top of them. If mon and tues are my days off and i work the other five that would seem to imply my holiday leave ended on sunday. If it were a mon-fri job and i left on a friday i'd have the weekend off when i returned, i don't think what they are doing is fair. Anyway i've refused to go in, any thoughts? Sorry for the confusing scenario!

Edit: I live in the UK.

Answer 1

ask your union for advice, they should be able to help or citizens advice.

Answer 2

As Monday and Tuesday are your days off, but as you worked a Monday you should be entitled to a day off in your working week instead. You are NOT paid for the two days you have free - for example I am paid Monday to Friday, I am NOT paid for Saturday and Sunday.

Answer 3

In the USA, holiday benefits are totally controlled by the company. The government doesn't dictate this. If you're asking for holiday pay, then you are barking up the wrong tree. The only rule of thumb is that they must follow their own personnel policies or else it is discriminatory employee practice. If your personnel policy does not address this situation, then sorry, you're more than likely out of luck. Sorry & Best Wishes!

Answer 4

Is this helpful?
Under the Working Time Regulations 1998 ( the Regulations), all "workers" as defined in the Regulations are entitled to a minimum period of 4 weeks annual leave. The Regulations provide that for each week of leave, the employer must pay one week's pay. In some sectors, notably the construction industry, employers have traditionally sought to discharge their liability by including an element of holiday pay "rolled-up" in the hourly, daily or weekly payments made to their workers. The purpose of this is to avoid the employer then having to pay holiday pay at the time workers are on leave. There has however been a great deal of debate as to whether this practice complies fully with the Regulations.

In the recent case of Marshalls Clay Products Limited v Caulfield (together with other joined cases), the Employment Appeal Tribunal considered the question of whether such payments are permissible under the Regulations.

In coming to its decision, the EAT identified 5 different categories of contract relating to holiday pay :-
1. Contracts that are silent on the issue of holiday pay.
2. Contracts that purport to exclude any liability for entitlement to holiday pay.
3. Contracts where the rates of pay are stated to include holiday pay but there is no indication or specification of an amount.

4. Contracts that provide for a basic wage or rate of pay topped up by a specific sum or percentage in respect of holiday pay.

5. Contracts where holiday pay is allocated to and paid during specific periods of holiday.

The EAT decided that only categories 4 and 5 above are lawful as they comply with the Regulations. This followed the reasoning of an earlier Court of Appeal case which we reported in a previous EMU. However, there appears now to be a major inconsistency between the law in England and Scotland as the Court of Session (the Scottish equivalent of the English Court of Appeal) came to a different conclusion.

From an employer's perspective, it is clear that careful drafting is required when dealing with a rolled-up holiday clause. It does appear to be the case that employers in England and Wales can continue to pay an enhanced rate in respect of holidays during working periods.

The EAT also offered guidance on the issue of rolled-up holiday payments and suggested that employers take the following measures in order to minimise the risk of such contractual payments not complying with the Regulations.

· The rolled-up holiday pay must be clearly incorporated into the individual contract and thus expressly agreed.
· The percentage or amount of holiday pay allocated must be clearly identified in the contract and preferably on the payslip.

· It must amount to a true addition to the contractual rate of pay.
· Records of holidays must be kept.
· Reasonably practicable steps must be taken by employers to require workers to take their holidays before the expiry of the relevant holiday period.

It should also be noted as a final word of caution that the provisions regarding holiday pay apply to "workers" which is a broader category of labour than "employees" and therefore companies will not be able to avoid liability for holiday pay by arguing that the "worker" is self employed. The often difficult issue of whether someone is an employee, worker or truly self employed is one which we can only resolve and properly advise upon once we are in possession of all the relevant facts.