Holiday Pay and redundancy

ambrub88

Hope someone can give me advice.....
On Friday 30th Jan 09 I was called into a meeting with my boss and a HR person to be told the company had to save cost's and my job was "at risk" of redundancy. I received at the meeting a letter from HR outlining this and told to attend a consultation meeting on 4th Feb 09. They state in the letter tha "We envisage the consultation period will last 30 days with approx one consultation meeting per week"
My question is.....our holiday begins on March 1st and runs to February 28th of the following year, so if they terminate my contract before March 1st, I will not receive my full entitlement to next years holiday which would amount in money terms to around £2,500 to me.
I wasnt sure so I have seen my doctor and he has put me on sick with flu for one week, hopefully so when i go back on the 9th Feb I will still have the full 30 days (4 weeks) of consultation before they can terminate my contract. As I have been with the company for 32 years, I will receive the full 3 months notice too.
Hope someone can tell me if im doing the right thing here, because my job is so unique I really cant argue with the redundancy claim as my workload had decreased over 50% in the lastyear
many thanks to all that can help

reheat

You don't get holiday entitlement up-front as such. So if you worked one month into your next holiday year and then leave you would not be entitled to the full year's holiday, just one month's-worth of it. So if you normally get 24 days a year, and took one day holiday during that month before leaving, yiou'd be entitled to just one day's holiday money.

Something else to be aware of if you get paid money in lieu of notice ... it caught me out. I was entitled to 3 months notice but left immediately, so got paid 3 months wages in lieu. But the taxman sees that simply as a big fat bonus in your final pay cheque, and taxes the whole lot as such - forget about any tax allowances you would have got if the money was paid normally across the next 3 months! Can make quite a big difference, and none of the advice we received told us about that. Really bugged me.

LittleVoice

If you don't work the full year, you won't be entitled to a full year's paid holiday entitlement, only to the proportion accrued.

dawn27

all depends if your holiday is accrued as you work the year. you need to find your employment contract or a staff handbook and check how your holiday is worked out

LittleVoice

reheat wrote: »

Something else to be aware of if you get paid money in lieu of notice ... it caught me out. I was entitled to 3 months notice but left immediately, so got paid 3 months wages in lieu. But the taxman sees that simply as a big fat bonus in your final pay cheque, and taxes the whole lot as such - forget about any tax allowances you would have got if the money was paid normally across the next 3 months! Can make quite a big difference, and none of the advice we received told us about that. Really bugged me.

This would be if the ability to pay in lieu of notice (PILON) is in the employment contract. If it is not (the written particulars are silent on that point and only refer to the amount of notice required), then PILON is non-contractual. If PILON is paid in those circumstances, it is not taxable.

reheat

LittleVoice wrote: »

This would be if the ability to pay in lieu of notice (PILON) is in the employment contract. If it is not (the written particulars are silent on that point and only refer to the amount of notice required), then PILON is non-contractual. If PILON is paid in those circumstances, it is not taxable.

Ah ... didn't know that. In my case, you are quite right, PILON was provisioned for in my contract.

McKneff

reheat, you would still get your 3 months tax allowance. if you stayed off work for the 3 months then found a new job you wouldnt pay tax for the next 3 months.

reheat

anniehanlon wrote: »

reheat, you would still get your 3 months tax allowance. if you stayed off work for the 3 months then found a new job you wouldnt pay tax for the next 3 months.

Agreed, but the time you most urgently need the money is to help tide you over till you find a new job, and it came as a shock to realise their was a lot less money to do that with with. But you are quite right of course.

gerkin

ambrub88 wrote: »

Hope someone can give me advice.....
On Friday 30th Jan 09 I was called into a meeting with my boss and a HR person to be told the company had to save cost's and my job was "at risk" of redundancy. I received at the meeting a letter from HR outlining this and told to attend a consultation meeting on 4th Feb 09. They state in the letter tha "We envisage the consultation period will last 30 days with approx one consultation meeting per week"
My question is.....our holiday begins on March 1st and runs to February 28th of the following year, so if they terminate my contract before March 1st, I will not receive my full entitlement to next years holiday which would amount in money terms to around £2,500 to me.
I wasnt sure so I have seen my doctor and he has put me on sick with flu for one week, hopefully so when i go back on the 9th Feb I will still have the full 30 days (4 weeks) of consultation before they can terminate my contract. As I have been with the company for 32 years, I will receive the full 3 months notice too.
Hope someone can tell me if im doing the right thing here, because my job is so unique I really cant argue with the redundancy claim as my workload had decreased over 50% in the lastyear
many thanks to all that can help

Have you actually got flu or did the doctor invent this ?

lal1234

Also - as far as I know the consultation period is not put on hold simply because you are off ill? Being off sick for a week won't add a week on to the consultation period - sorry

McKneff

reheat wrote: »

Agreed, but the time you most urgently need the money is to help tide you over till you find a new job, and it came as a shock to realise their was a lot less money to do that with with. But you are quite right of course.

Yes, i understand what you mean, hopefully with your redundancy money also it will be a buffer for you. Hope you find a job shortly, i know it must be difficult just even accepting redundancy when you have worked for a company so long, its become a way oflife. Good luck to you and your family