Untaken Holidays

webbo1981

I have been off ill from work since February 2012. All holidays I have not taken I am led to believe I will be paid?

My holidays run from Jan - Dec per year and are allocated 35 including bank holidays

My employer pays the 15th of each month in full

Can I assume my employer will automatically pay me for the holidays I haven't taken?

Also just to note it seems I won't be returning to work in the near future due to my illness

Many thanks in advance

Uncertain

You cannot lose statutory holiday (i.e 28 days per year) as a result of being off sick. As you get more holiday than this the firm can have whatever rules they like about the extra seven days so you might lose these.

You cannot insist they pay you for the holiday whilst still off sick, although they may well be willing to do so.

If they are not willing then the holiday will continue to accrue until you return. If you do not return to work for any reason they will have to pay you for the holiday after you leave.

webbo1981

Hi Uncertain

Many thanks for your reply

I am unsure what will happen in the future as my employment doesn't either. I assume short term they will transfer this years holidays into next year

Thanks again

Uncertain

If you are no longer getting full company sick pay it is common practice (but not a right) to be offered to take some holiday to, effectively, extend the period of sick pay.

They will have to pay it eventually so they have little to lose but some firms won't play ball.

webbo1981

This helps massively, thank you

Regarding sick pay, that is another issue

Uncertain

webbo1981 wrote: »

Regarding sick pay, that is another issue

Try me......

webbo1981

I was under the impression the company policy for sick pay was six months full. However I have been off since Feb and I am still receiving full pay. My payday is 15th each month and assumed the sixth and final payment would be August. However I have received full pay for September and October. I emailed my employers HR Department twice in August asking what would happen and nothing. I have since spoke to my union who have advised to leave it as it is unless my employer states otherwise. On top of all this one of my managers who I have contact with seems to think I will receive 12 months full sick pay due to my 11 years service with the company. I don't know what to think

zzzLazyDaisy

You have done everything you can. If there has been an overpayment of sick pay, the employer is entitled to recover it, but if you have taken all steps you can and continue to be assured that you will get it for a year, then there is a possibility that you could rely on an 'estoppel' argument for not having to repay it. I'm not going to get into it now as it is compllicated and depends on the facts, but if it gets that far, come back and ask us to look at it.

In the meantime keep a diary note of the conversations you have had, with names and dates and what was said, and also keep printouts of your e-mails somewhere safe.

If you are really concerned you could keep half the money in a separate account until you are sure you are home and dry....

EDIT - I am not going to comment about the holidays - as usual Uncertain is spot on :-)

Uncertain

webbo1981 wrote: »

I was under the impression the company policy for sick pay was six months full. However I have been off since Feb and I am still receiving full pay. My payday is 15th each month and assumed the sixth and final payment would be August. However I have received full pay for September and October. I emailed my employers HR Department twice in August asking what would happen and nothing. I have since spoke to my union who have advised to leave it as it is unless my employer states otherwise. On top of all this one of my managers who I have contact with seems to think I will receive 12 months full sick pay due to my 11 years service with the company. I don't know what to think

OK...

Either you are entitled to more than you expected (ideal) or they have made a mistake (quite possible) or they have simply used their discretion to pay over and above your contractual entitlement.

The problem is without rocking the boat you can't really spend the money. An employer has, in all but the most unusual circumstances, a right to recover any accidental overpayment.

Providing you don't need to spend the money in the short term and you have copies of emails etc plus your union's advice then I would sit tight and see what happens.

If you have been off more than 28 weeks you may be eligible to claim ESA from the government. This is paid purely on health grounds (initially) and is not affected by the fact that you are still getting sick pay. A lot of people don't realise that.

Many decent sick pay schemes that pay out for more than six months have a clause requiring you to claim ESA (used to be called Incapacity Benefit) and whatever you get is deducted from your sick pay by the firm. Yours may or may not but it is worth checking. AFAIK you cannot claim ESA retrospectively so it may be worth checking in case the firm suddenly want some or all of the last few month's money back!

From the type of setup I would assume you would not be eligible for any means tested benefits but, from memory, the contribution based part of ESA is about £65 per week for the first 13 weeks then, if you pass the medical, it goes up to around £100.

HTH

zzzLazyDaisy

Just to add, one month before the expiry of your SSP entitlement, your employer should send you Form SSP1. This confirms that you are no longer entitled to SSP from a given date, and you forward this to DWP to start your claim for ESA. (Where you are paid company sick pay, SSP is deemed to be included in this). But a lot of employers are not aware of this so you may need to give them a gentle prod. There is nothing to stop you getting full contribution based ESA as well as full pay (though, as Uncertain says, some employment contracts contain a clause that any ESA will be deducted from your sick pay).

Contribution based ESA stops after 12 months, but can be reclaimed after 13 weeks, provided you have paid NI conts in the relevant tax years.