Hourly rate inclusive of holiday pay confused?!

pandaspot

I am a bit confused, this is my first time working for an agency. The place I worked agreed that all of us employed should be employed at £8.46 ph the same as permanent staff. Well my pay is made up like this ... £7.55ph plus 91p holiday pay, making up the £8.46. Whereas some one else on my team, there agency worked it out at £8.46 ph and he accures £0.91 ph holiday pay in a seperate pot, and someone else is paid £8.46 and is accruing hours for holiday pay. We all started the same day and doing the same job.

This means I get no holiday pay and essentially lower paid. I am also not allowed to discuss my wages with the company I work for as I would breach my contract if they found out. What can I do? I love my job but not the fact I have no paid holiday pay ( well I do, but it is used to make my pay up to the rate that the company wants us to be paid at) help please

agrinnall

The other two agencies are doing much the same thing, whereas yours is taking the cheapskate route. If you want the full pay rate plus either holiday or extra pay then take a job with one of the other agencies - if everybody does it then your current agency will get the message (although whether they'll act on it I have my doubts).

General_Grant

pandaspot wrote: »

I am a bit confused, this is my first time working for an agency. The place I worked agreed that all of us employed should be employed at £8.46 ph the same as permanent staff. Well my pay is made up like this ... £7.55ph plus 91p holiday pay, making up the £8.46. Whereas some one else on my team, there agency worked it out at £8.46 ph and he accures £0.91 ph holiday pay in a seperate pot, and someone else is paid £8.46 and is accruing hours for holiday pay. We all started the same day and doing the same job.

This means I get no holiday pay and essentially lower paid. I am also not allowed to discuss my wages with the company I work for as I would breach my contract if they found out. What can I do? I love my job but not the fact I have no paid holiday pay ( well I do, but it is used to make my pay up to the rate that the company wants us to be paid at) help please

How long have you worked in your current role?

The reason for asking is that parity with permanent staff is something which is required by law after 12 weeks' service.

If you have worked there for 12 weeks then any time after those 12 weeks have been completed have to be paid at the permanent rate and paid leave is on top of that (because permanent people are paid like that).

If you have not worked there for 12 weeks yet, then your agency is not doing anything unlawful in this respect.

pandaspot

I have worked there 5 weeks, I think I am going to have a word with h.r where I work cause I did ask them about transferring to another agency and would cause any problems. She said they are in a contract with them and it could be deemed inappropriate, she also asked if she could help at all. I think I might just make them aware of the situation I am in and see if they can offer any advice.

(My previous job I was salaried for 15 years, I worked full time for a local authority but took redundancy. I hadn't worked since leaving as diagnoised with fibromyalagia a few months ago and been struggling to find a job with the hours I could do around the chronic fatigue )

I have been looking on the Internet and is this 'rolled up' holiday pay?

anamenottaken

pandaspot wrote: »

I have worked there 5 weeks (so not unlawful of the agency at this stage though if they are charging the client the same hourly rate as they would if you had worked there 12 weeks it is rather unfair (but not legally so)), I think I am going to have a word with h.r where I work cause I did ask them about transferring to another agency and would cause any problems. She said they are in a contract with them and it could be deemed inappropriate (it would be against their agreed T&C or subject to a payment to your agency too), she also asked if she could help at all. I think I might just make them aware of the situation I am in and see if they can offer any advice. (Probably to continue working in the role (it will build up your CV) and wait for the 12 weeks to be completed.)

(My previous job I was salaried for 15 years, I worked full time for a local authority but took redundancy. I hadn't worked since leaving as diagnoised with fibromyalagia a few months ago and been struggling to find a job with the hours I could do around the chronic fatigue )

I have been looking on the Internet and is this 'rolled up' holiday pay?

What you are being paid is not strictly rolled up holiday pay because it seems as though the holiday pay is being shown separately on your payslip. If you were simply getting the hourly rate and that was described as inclusive of holiday pay then that would be rolled up pay.

You could ask HR what the holiday entitlement is for a permanent member of staff. If it is the statutory minimum then the agency would need to pay an additional 12.07% as holiday pay (which is about what they are doing now but on the lower base hourly rate of £7.55). However if the client company gives more as an entitlement (eg 30 days to include bank holidays) then the agency needs to add more as holiday pay once your 12 weeks have been completed.

pandaspot

Ahh right, they have broken it down and on the contract it's broken down.

pandaspot

So I would be better waiting till 12 weeks and bring it up. I can't imagin they will increase my pay tbh

anamenottaken

pandaspot wrote: »

So I would be better waiting till 12 weeks and bring it up. I can't imagin they will increase my pay tbh

Personally I would wait until the day I started week 13 and then remind the agency that I was due to receive the hourly rate of a permanent member of staff, reminding them of what that is at the time.

When I got the payslip for Week 13 I'd check what they were doing about holiday pay, bearing in mind what I've said about checking what a permanent member of staff would get.

I'd wait till week 13 because of building up a reasonable amount of time in the job to demonstrate to a new potential employer that I could cope with the number of hours involved.

I'd also be careful about taking holidays during the 13 weeks. Will you be taking time off between Christmas Eve and New Year for instance?

pandaspot

The office isn't open over xmAs. They close from 24th to 5th I would love to go in over xmAs as I get no pay

anamenottaken

pandaspot wrote: »

The office isn't open over xmAs. They close from 24th to 5th I would love to go in over xmAs as I get no pay

As the office will be closed for a whole week (Saturday to Saturday) and you won't be working, that could stop the clock on the 12 weeks though it doesn't completely re-set it.

pandaspot

Oh god really, well least it's only 5 weeks I will lose I hope it doesn't reset it.