Working As A Temp For Hays - Holiday Pay Issues

321andy

Hi everybody,

Im in a real mess with my holiday pay and need some help. I work as a temp for Hays Recruitment and I've just looked through my last 2 weekly wage slips and notice that they are CHARGING me to save holidays.


The worst thing is, i knew nothing about this. Im on 9.25 an hour and weekly i should be getting £276 after tax, based on the 37.5hours i work a week. However, they are stealing £36 a week off me which is £144 monthly and basically will cripple me as its £150 a month to commute to my work.

So does that mean when i take a holiday i get the £36 back? That cant be right as that would equate to £4.80 per hour - well below the nat min

Is there anyway i can get them to stop taking this money off me? I know it sounds stupid but Hays, im a grown man - i can manage my finances and holiday entitlement myself!

Surely this cant be legal? wherever i have worked previously you accrue your days weekly - I.E, half a day a week.

Any help would be excellent

KeithP

Andy, why not ask Hays to explain their process?

Welcome to the forums, btw.

321andy

I have, and this is what i got out of them

"we take 10% of your wage so that when you come to take a holiday, you have the etitlement - if you dont take them and your contract ends, we pay you it back in a lump sum"

I'd rather have the money in my bank making interest than in Hays. There has to be a way around this

HopeAndDriftWood

I've temped for Hays. I wasn't charged for holidays, I accrued it 3/4 of a day a week, and was paid at my usual rate when I took holidays.

Hmm.

secretspender_2

Hi Andy, I work in recruitment and Hay are notorious for doing this. We've recently had two of their staff come over to us.

AFAIK< there isnt a way round it as they do it with all temps.

Paparika

standard with agencies now, they retain a fraction of your wage so when you take holiday you get it paid to you then.

briona

Hi 321andy

Welcome to MSE.

The agency is not "charging you" to save holidays – they are simply doing what appears to be increasingly common practice among agencies and offering you an hourly rate that INCLUDES holiday pay.

In practice, as you are finding out, this means that you are not being paid £9.25ph – you are being paid that MINUS whatever percentage they need to withhold to pay you for the 28 days holiday per annum you are entitled to.

As for getting that money back, different agencies pay you for holidays in different ways. Some pay you your usual daily rate, e.g., 1 day's holiday = 8 hrs pay.

With my agency, my holiday pay is worked out as an average of the past 12 weeks' hours, so sometimes I get 8hrs holiday pay, other times I get 7.25hrs – it all depends on how many hours I've worked in the 12 weeks prior to requesting a day's holiday. Still, I'm lucky in that my hourly rate DOES NOT INCLUDE holiday pay – the agency is adding a bit extra to their rate to cover it, meaning that in effect the company I'm working for is paying for my holidays!

I believe that when you leave the agency, they are obliged to pay you any outstanding holiday pay.

I'm surprised that when you signed up to the agency, the issue of how they handled holiday pay was not explained... As a previous poster suggested, your best bet is simply to phone Hays up and ask.

Briona

Deep_In_Debt

Not all agencies do it. When I temped until February, I was accruing holiday pay - 10% of the hours I worked per week - 35 hours per week, so accruing 3.5 hours of holiday per week (assuming I worked a 35 hour week). I was on £13ph when I left and got paid the holiday pay that I had accrued @£13ph. Ok, they were probably charging the company a hideous amount to compensate for my holiday but it didn't come out of my wage.

Suggest you ring Hays and ask them to explain.

LittleVoice

321andy wrote: »

. . .if you dont take them and your contract ends, we pay you it back in a lump sum"

You may not be feeling like staying with Hays long-term but just be aware that, if you do, as you approach your anniversary of starting with them you establish your accrued holiday and take it before the end of the year. (I would take the last bit in the week approaching the anniversary.)

That is because the WTR mean that if you don't take all your accrued holiday and don't leave before the end of the year, you lose any holiday not taken and the clock starts running again to accumulate paid holiday in the next year. It can't be taken forward to a new holiday year.

Amendment: Hays' current holiday year ends on 1 January 2010. (Not all agencies operate in the same way.) So remember to book the bank holiday (1 January) more than 2 weeks in advance in order not to lose pay.

rolypoly999

Hi 321andy,

I used to work thru hays as a temp. They have to be the worst agency I have ever worked for. They are totally useless. I think by law thay can only stop tax and NI from your wages. Go to the Citizens Advice about it..

olly300

Before there is a bank holiday (HINT - end of the month) make sure you have asked them both verbally and in writing for a the day as a holiday.