Furlough & Holiday Entitlement - Firm has backtracked

JWO147

Hi i'm looking some clarification on holiday entitlement during furlough.  
*My firm operates set holidays/closing down periods and one of these is during the easter holidays where we close down for a week (5 days holiday)
*A few weeks before this the company placed all employees on furlough and we received a letter stating that we would be paid furlough pay over this holiday period and that we would still have our holiday entitlement.
*All employees have now received a further letter this week stating that the guidance has changed and that the furlough payment made to us at 80% of our average wage (which with overtime included is greater that out flat holiday week) would cover our holidays and that we are not owed the 5 days at easter that we were originally told we would retain.

Is this correct?  Doe this not essentially mean that the government have paid our holidays and that the firm are getting away without paying us for the holidays we have accrued?  I'm just thinking that the Easter period was during the height of the lock down and it wouldn't have been reasonable to take holidays at a time when I didn't even want to leave the house.  

Any input or links to government guidelines would be very helpful.  Thanks

bradders1983

Holiday pay has to be paid at the full 100%

Time2Go_25

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/holiday-entitlement-and-pay-during-coronavirus-covid-19
Any holiday you take while furloughed should be paid at your normal working rate, not the 80% furloughed rate

JWO147

Thanks for the replies.  Typically at Easter I would be paid 39 hours as a flat week, but the furlough pay which takes my overtime in to account actually worked out approx 50 hours so it was in excess of what I would have got as holiday pay.

What I am querying is whether I should still have those 5 days holiday entitlement given that the firm said we would retain them but has since backtracked this week and said the payment made at easter covers our holiday pay and we are not owed these days.

bradders1983

If they have paid you extra they can easily claim this was the holiday pay.

Grumpy_chap

Strictly, you should have had notice about the holiday dates, but it sounds like these dates (over Easter) would normally have been closed anyway.

You have, in effect, been paid over 100% for the holiday days.

You could create a fuss and quote "rules" and "rights".  I would be inclined to just take it on the chin.

camdens

I was put on furlough on 1st April but receiving only 80% of my normal salary, at the same time I was asked to sign an amended contract stating that until further notice I would receive only 80% even after the furlough period.  My employer said that this was due to a downturn in the economy that was affecting the business, when asked what the target/marker was to put salaries back to 100% I was told it was at the companies discretion.   I have now been asked to come back to work 2 days a week still at 80% but told that I must lose 10 days of my holiday entitlement for this year because company policy states we cannot carry holiday over into the next year.  I am not happy about this, because the business sales figures are almost back to where they should be yet I'm still on 80% salary and have lost 10 days holiday yet I haven't had a holiday..

Jeremy535897

camdens said:

I was put on furlough on 1st April but receiving only 80% of my normal salary, at the same time I was asked to sign an amended contract stating that until further notice I would receive only 80% even after the furlough period.  My employer said that this was due to a downturn in the economy that was affecting the business, when asked what the target/marker was to put salaries back to 100% I was told it was at the companies discretion.   I have now been asked to come back to work 2 days a week still at 80% but told that I must lose 10 days of my holiday entitlement for this year because company policy states we cannot carry holiday over into the next year.  I am not happy about this, because the business sales figures are almost back to where they should be yet I'm still on 80% salary and have lost 10 days holiday yet I haven't had a holiday..

Better to have your own thread. Your employer can tell you when to take your holiday, with notice of twice the length of the holiday (20 days notice for 10 days holiday), unless your employment contract says otherwise. This includes time on furlough. If you have had three months off work on furlough, this approach by your employer is not surprising. As your contract has been amended to make your normal pay 80% of what it was, this may impact what your holiday pay rate is. They cannot reduce your holiday entitlement to less than 5.6 weeks a year.
See https://www.gov.uk/guidance/holiday-entitlement-and-pay-during-coronavirus-covid-19

See https://uklabourlawblog.com/2020/04/06/furloughing-and-fundamental-rights-the-case-of-paid-annual-leave-by-alan-bogg-and-michael-ford/