Sick / holiday pay in redundancy advice

miss_frugality

My OH has just been made redundant after working somewhere for four months (he's been made redundant 4 times in 3 years). They gave him a weeks notice - he was paid weekly. In october he took two days sick and was paid for these days. He noted on his time sheet that they were sick days. When he was informed of his holiday entitlement they had treated the two days as holiday and when he queried it they said that they don't pay sick pay and had therefore treated it as holiday. Despite asking several times he (and everyone else who works there) didn't have a contract. Now he is redundant and they are paying just the notice period (there is no more holiday entitlement due). Surely if he didn't book the time as holiday it cant be treated as holiday and he should be entitled to those days (he would have accrued them). In the absence of a contract if sick days are paid for surely you can assume that that is the policy. A director had said to him 'we tend to pay sick'. I know its only two days but with no money coming in over Xmas and noone recruiting in the period we need the money. Can anyone advise?

Googlewhacker

Can you prove that they pay sick pay to other people? If yes then you would have a claim, if not then I would leave it

Uncertain

You have very little to lose by making a claim. The firm has not provided a written statement of particulars of employment (contract) so you can add this to the claim. His payslip says "sick" not holiday so this is further proof. The will struggle to argue with this.

Also, has your OH taken all of his accrued holiday? Remember holiday accrues daily (regardless of what the firm may try to say). He is entitled to a minimum of 28 days paid holiday per year so this is just over a day for every two weeks worked.

Write to the firm setting out clearly what you are owed and give them 14 days to respond otherwise lodge an employment tribunal claim (Form ET1). You can do this online but it MUST be submitted within three months of leaving.

anamenottaken

miss_frugality wrote: »

In october he took two days sick and was paid for these days. He noted on his time sheet that they were sick days. When he was informed of his holiday entitlement they had treated the two days as holiday and when he queried it they said that they don't pay sick pay and had therefore treated it as holiday. Despite asking several times he (and everyone else who works there) didn't have a contract. Now he is redundant and they are paying just the notice period (there is no more holiday entitlement due). Surely if he didn't book the time as holiday it cant be treated as holiday and he should be entitled to those days (he would have accrued them). In the absence of a contract if sick days are paid for surely you can assume that that is the policy. A director had said to him 'we tend to pay sick'. I know its only two days but with no money coming in over Xmas and noone recruiting in the period we need the money.

He has a contract in that he turned up for work and got paid.

Within two months of his starting there, they should have provided written particulars of his employment - doesn't have to be a document signed by anyone, just something which gives details of name of employer and employee, job title or brief description, hours of work and so on. Any entitlement to company sick pay should have been noted too. By paying it as holiday they were ensuring he got full pay at the time it would have been due, without deduction of those two days. So he got the pay then, he wouldn't be due it again.

As I read the OP, the payslip doesn't say "sick", it is the timesheet which indicates sickness absence.

Not only would you need to show that the company regularly pays sick pay to staff but also that they do that in the early months of employment - many employers only pay company sick pay after six or more months' service.

Googlewhacker

Uncertain wrote: »

You have very little to lose by making a claim. The firm has not provided a written statement of particulars of employment (contract) so you can add this to the claim. His payslip says "sick" not holiday so this is further proof. The will struggle to argue with this.

Also, has your OH taken all of his accrued holiday? Remember holiday accrues daily (regardless of what the firm may try to say). He is entitled to a minimum of 28 days paid holiday per year so this is just over a day for every two weeks worked.

Write to the firm setting out clearly what you are owed and give them 14 days to respond otherwise lodge an employment tribunal claim (Form ET1). You can do this online but it MUST be submitted within three months of leaving.

No, the payslip will indicate holiday but the timesheet he wrote on was sick.

miss_frugality

Thanks for all your responses.

I dont think we have got anything to lose by making a claim so I will get the ball rolliong.

Heres to a better 2011

alan888

Payment in Lieu of holiday pay

Can anyone help in respect of payment in lieu of holiday pay
I was employed by the Insolvency Service at at date of retirement I was owed 30 days annual leave
They have calculated my payment in lieu by dividing my annual salary by 365 days to get a daily rate and then multiplied by my annaul leave of 30 days
This means thay are aplying amuch lower rate than I think they should as I dont work for 365 vdays per year!

Can anyone help. They just keep stonewalling me!