Holiday pay - pro rate - based on contract or actual hours?

Hi all,

I was wondering if you could help.

I work part time and as such have a 7 hour contract (weekly). However, I regularly work upto 28 hours a week. (4 days).

Obviously being part time, the holiday pay is pro-rata. However, they are using 7 hours as the calculation for the holiday pay. Considering I regularly work four times this, I find it pretty annoying.

There are quite a lot of us on these 7 hour contracts but doing a lot more hours. It seems like a bit of scam for them to give us low hour contracts and get away with giving us less holiday pay. Is this correct?

Thanks!
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Comments

  • juliescot
    juliescot Posts: 1,433 Forumite
    The holiday pay will be based on the contracted hours.

    That is a massive amount of overtime and it may well be worth asking for a re-evaluation of your contract
  • liney
    liney Posts: 5,121
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    Contracted hours only, however you should only be booking off 7 hours for a week off work. This way you are not worse off.
    "On behalf of teachers, I'd like to dedicate this award to Michael Gove and I mean dedicate in the Anglo Saxon sense which means insert roughly into the anus of." My hero, Mr Steer.
  • liney wrote: »
    Contracted hours only, however you should only be booking off 7 hours for a week off work. This way you are not worse off.
    So a week of paid holiday amounting to 7 hours pay leaves you no worse off that a paid holiday amounting to 28 hours? I think not.
  • PasturesNew
    PasturesNew Posts: 70,698
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    That'd be a way for companies to get round the holiday pay though, employ them on 0 hours contracts, or 1 hour contracts, then simply get them to do overtime. Instant 10% or so saving on wages - and associated NI costs.

    So ... it doesn't sound like it could be right.
  • That'd be a way for companies to get round the holiday pay though, employ them on 0 hours contracts, or 1 hour contracts, then simply get them to do overtime. Instant 10% or so saving on wages - and associated NI costs.

    So ... it doesn't sound like it could be right.

    Unfortunately it is right - that holiday is related to contracted hours - and is a means by which an employer can avoid paying what in true fairness would be due.
  • Thanks for the replies.

    My contract has only just been renewed from temporary to permanent. The reason it is only 7 hours is so they can be flexible, one week it's busy, the next it is dead.

    My previous job paid holiday pay directly linked to hours worked. It was a much better system. I'm still not convinced this is acceptable...but I don't know what I can do about it. Nothing? :(
  • liney
    liney Posts: 5,121
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    So a week of paid holiday amounting to 7 hours pay leaves you no worse off that a paid holiday amounting to 28 hours? I think not.


    No worse off, as in s/he recieves 5.6 x 7 hours holiday pay and still receives 5.6 weeks off work, not a week and abit because s/he has booked off the overtime they have been doing in order to take the time meaning they do not get the correct amount of time off work over the year.

    Overtime, is overtime. S/he can refuse to do it, or the employer can withdraw it at anytime. If the OP wants a "bigger" contract they need to negotiate one, because until they have more official hours they are only being promised 7 hours a week's work, and therefore 5.6 x 7 hours per year holiday pay.

    I feel there are two different issues.
    "On behalf of teachers, I'd like to dedicate this award to Michael Gove and I mean dedicate in the Anglo Saxon sense which means insert roughly into the anus of." My hero, Mr Steer.
  • Savvy_Sue
    Savvy_Sue Posts: 45,938
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    You could try to negotiate a contract which acknowledges the flexible nature of the work, and allows you to calculate your holiday entitlement based on the number of hours worked in the previous X weeks (not sure if it is 12 or 13). That's what should happen if your hours aren't fixed at all: as it is, you have 7 hours when you always do work.

    There may be more information on the ACAS website.
    Signature removed for peace of mind
  • LittleVoice
    LittleVoice Posts: 8,975
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    Savvy_Sue wrote: »
    You could try to negotiate a contract which acknowledges the flexible nature of the work, and allows you to calculate your holiday entitlement based on the number of hours worked in the previous X weeks (not sure if it is 12 or 13). That's what should happen if your hours aren't fixed at all: as it is, you have 7 hours when you always do work.

    There may be more information on the ACAS website.

    Yes, Sue, it's 12 weeks - but you do not count any week when no paid work is done and instead move back one week and count that in.
  • liney
    liney Posts: 5,121
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    Savvy_Sue wrote: »
    You could try to negotiate a contract which acknowledges the flexible nature of the work, and allows you to calculate your holiday entitlement based on the number of hours worked in the previous X weeks (not sure if it is 12 or 13). That's what should happen if your hours aren't fixed at all: as it is, you have 7 hours when you always do work.

    There may be more information on the ACAS website.

    Then what happens when the OP comes to book holidays? Does he book only 7 hours, does he accept overtime then book it off too? Does he fiddle the system, refuse overtime that week, and effectively get more holidays in weeks than everyone else? Complications...
    "On behalf of teachers, I'd like to dedicate this award to Michael Gove and I mean dedicate in the Anglo Saxon sense which means insert roughly into the anus of." My hero, Mr Steer.
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