Holiday pay is a legal entitlement for ALL workers.
If you think that you’ve got a legitimate reason not to pay holiday pay, you should be prepared to prove this when challenged.
In court.
Paying legal fees of £300/hour plus VAT.
If you don’t pay a worker holiday pay, then you would be liable to legal action.
A worker who believes they should have been paid holiday pay for their annual leave can take you to an employment tribunal.
Tribunal claims for holiday pay are seen as “black and white” cases, which means you either paid holiday pay or you didn’t.
Bit like minimum wage.
So you would have to prove that you have evidence of payment or that the employee has taken their holidays and been paid.
It is NOT a matter of interpretation.
Of course, you could reach a settlement before it reaches an employment tribunal, but the costs are likely to be in the thousands of pounds.
If you go to a tribunal and lose, you’re likely to face a significant legal fee as well as paying compensation to the worker and their legal fees.
Remember that your defence can’t be “well they don’t work full time, so they are sort of on holiday the rest of the week when they are not working, so it is not a big deal”.
Holiday is paid time off, not just time off.
If you think you might be in this situation, it would be wise to review your holiday pay now before any problems arise.
If you want any help with employment contracts, notice periods, and any employment or HR issues, Gap HR are here to help.
Give us a call on 01491 598 600 or drop us a line at cw@gaphr.co.uk and we can discuss.
