Holiday Entitlement

sonstbbs

Hi there,
This is my first post here. I have looked back through old threads but couldn't find anything specific to my question.

I work for a small family run company that employs about 9 people.
Just a brief outline...all my colleagues are 18-25 and single. I am, shall we say, mid life, married with 2 children. The job works for me perfectly because of the hours I do and being able to work around school etc. I tot up on average about 34 hours a week.
We are PAYE registered employees and I have been there since last January...however....

We don't recieve pay slips...or rather, we got given a bunch about 2 months ago, loads of which were missing and have not received anything since.

None of us have signed any contracts

We do get paid on time, weekly, so ok there...

A couple of the employees work 60 - 70 hours per week, should they have to sign some kind of disclaimer to this effect?

None of us get holiday entitlement or pay

The holiday pay is the thing that is beginning to get to me. Having kids, it would be nice to spend some time with them during the holidays, however so far this year I have put them into holiday clubs and barely broken even at the end of the school breaks.

We don't have the staff to cover any holiday days really without doubling the workload of the existing staff...should this be my problem or do I have the right to take days as holiday??

Up until now most of us swap shifts with other colleagues so as to maintain the weekly hours.

Should we legally get holiday pay, if so how is it worked out?

If we are supposed to get it, should we get it back dated from when we started?

My colleagues are equally miffed about this and I said we'd be much stronger approaching the management as 'one voice' with facts then individuals whinging about the lack of holiday entitlement.

I would appreciate advice,
Thanks in advance

Takeaway_Addict

sonstbbs wrote: »

Hi there,
This is my first post here. I have looked back through old threads but couldn't find anything specific to my question.

I work for a small family run company that employs about 9 people.
Just a brief outline...all my colleagues are 18-25 and single. I am, shall we say, mid life, married with 2 children. The job works for me perfectly because of the hours I do and being able to work around school etc. I tot up on average about 34 hours a week.
We are PAYE registered employees and I have been there since last January...however....

We don't recieve pay slips...or rather, we got given a bunch about 2 months ago, loads of which were missing and have not received anything since. Not good from the employer, they should be doling them out each and every payday

None of us have signed any contracts By working you have a contract, if no written particulars then statutory will apply

We do get paid on time, weekly, so ok there...

A couple of the employees work 60 - 70 hours per week, should they have to sign some kind of disclaimer to this effect? No, they could opt out via the Working time directive to only work 48 hours average over 17 weeks.

None of us get holiday entitlement or pay This is a big no no by the employer, you are entitled to 12.07% of hours worked as holiday. Or if you have a contract number of hours (which it sounds like you don't) 5.6 weeks pro-ratad

The holiday pay is the thing that is beginning to get to me. Having kids, it would be nice to spend some time with them during the holidays, however so far this year I have put them into holiday clubs and barely broken even at the end of the school breaks.

We don't have the staff to cover any holiday days really without doubling the workload of the existing staff...should this be my problem or do I have the right to take days as holiday?? Not your problem

Up until now most of us swap shifts with other colleagues so as to maintain the weekly hours.

Should we legally get holiday pay, if so how is it worked out?yes, see above

If we are supposed to get it, should we get it back dated from when we started? Yes, for the last year at least I believe

My colleagues are equally miffed about this and I said we'd be much stronger approaching the management as 'one voice' with facts then individuals whinging about the lack of holiday entitlement. Correct

I would appreciate advice,
Thanks in advance

JOIN A UNION!

I see the employers point of view alot more than most on these boards but yours is taking the mick.

I would suggest you all join a union and ask for their backing, if you are not grouped together and say you complain then as you have only worked since January they could look to dismiss you fairly easily.

If you don't join a union make sure that you get as many as you can to complain but try not to show yourself as the ringleader as you will get targeted.

What other laws are they breaking? Are you being paid more than national minimum wage?

What about sickness pay?

The only thing that may get your employer out of this is making sure you are not self employed, though even if they say you are I would question if the HMRC would see it this way!

LittleVoice

I'll answer what I can or comment:

sonstbbs wrote: »

Hi there,
This is my first post here. I have looked back through old threads but couldn't find anything specific to my question.

I work for a small family run company that employs about 9 people.
Just a brief outline...all my colleagues are 18-25 and single. I am, shall we say, mid life, married with 2 children. The job works for me perfectly because of the hours I do and being able to work around school etc. I tot up on average about 34 hours a week.
We are PAYE registered employees and I have been there since last January...however....

We don't recieve pay slips...or rather, we got given a bunch about 2 months ago, loads of which were missing and have not received anything since. Your employer is required by law to supply a payslip when or before you are paid.

None of us have signed any contracts Employment does not require signed contracts. What is required is that you receive written statements of certain particulars of your employment. These do not have to be signed by anybody, just supplied by the employer.

We do get paid on time, weekly, so ok there...

A couple of the employees work 60 - 70 hours per week, should they have to sign some kind of disclaimer to this effect? Yes, they should have confirmed in writing that they are willing to work more than 48 hours a week on average.

None of us get holiday entitlement or pay. As employees you are all entitled to 5.6 weeks paid holiday a year. A week is whatever length your contracted hours are.

The holiday pay is the thing that is beginning to get to me. Having kids, it would be nice to spend some time with them during the holidays, however so far this year I have put them into holiday clubs and barely broken even at the end of the school breaks. The employer can say when you take holidays. So they don't have to allow it exactly when you would like but they must allow you to take the holiday during the holiday year.

We don't have the staff to cover any holiday days really without doubling the workload of the existing staff...should this be my problem or do I have the right to take days as holiday?? This is not your problem: it is for the employer to arrange cover for the work they want doing. However, as above, the employer can say when you take the holiday. They have to manage it.

Up until now most of us swap shifts with other colleagues so as to maintain the weekly hours.

Should we legally get holiday pay, if so how is it worked out? As above - it is 5.6 weeks. That is 28 days a year for someone working 5 or more days a week (working 6 or 7 days a week would not increase the number of actual days). It can include bank holidays.

If we are supposed to get it, should we get it back dated from when we started? Not really able to back-date holiday beyond the current holiday year. Without a written statement about holidays, each individual's holiday year would run from the anniversary of their joining the organisation. It is the employees responsibility to request the holiday.

My colleagues are equally miffed about this and I said we'd be much stronger approaching the management as 'one voice' with facts then individuals whinging about the lack of holiday entitlement.

I would appreciate advice,
Thanks in advance

Advice:

Join a Union.

Refer to the Employment Rights Acts and Working Time Regulations.

sonstbbs

I would like to thank the reply postees for their prompt replies. Pretty much confirmed what I already knew. Feel well informed, thanks!