Legal Advice Needed - Employer and Holiday Pay refusing to pay 2 Weeks

Bailek

Good morning, I have tried looking online for answers but there doesn’t seem to be anything! So i thought I would throw it out on the forums

Long story short ----

I booked 2 weeks holiday last year to have during the end of April and obviously no one knew we would have lockdown, I was working right up until the end of March until I was one of the last workers to be put on furlough, I was paid 100% of my wages like every other employee during that month and then after down to 80%, now I have been back at work for over 2 months and I have spoken to my boss about my holiday as I had to cancel the place we were going to go to in April, so I requested my two weeks holiday for a little later in the year, but my boss has told me I won’t be paid holiday pay because it’s not his fault we were on lockdown? I asked about everyone on the furlough getting the same % of wages and he said yes you all did, so I argued about my two weeks holiday pay which he said he was not paying as I had furlough pay, I then asked him about everyone else that didn’t book holiday during lockdown are they still entitled to that holiday and also the pay? And he just bluntly said yes but has said he is happy to pay me for 1 of those 2 weeks which just screams he knows he shouldn't be doing it? so he is saying the two weeks I had booked off prior to lockdown I have already been paid (which I haven’t as no one has been forced to take it as holiday pay so other employees can still book holiday and be paid) as we were all on furlough pay where do I stand legally with this? As he is adamant he is not going to pay me if I book two weeks off and I need to know where I stand.

Please help me!
Thank you for your time
- K 

Semple

I may be wrong but I don't think your employer is in the wrong. I'm assuming that the annual leave request wasn't cancelled - as that's the key here. 

Ignoring all your other colleagues situation, you had 2 weeks of annual leave booked for April. You were also placed on furlough for the month of April. Which would have meant you only being paid for 2 weeks of furlough.

I think what's upsetting you here is that as your employer generously topped everyone's pay up for the month of April, and your other colleagues were obviously off work as well, you're feeling a little hard done by that you were on annual leave for 2 weeks, at the same time as everyone else being off, but at no cost to them in terms of annual leave allowance.

Legally there's nothing you can do here. You had booked the annual leave off, it's not your employers concern that your holiday was cancelled, and that you were restricted with what you could do.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by your employer only paying you for one of the two weeks? Presumably for the month of April you were still paid your full salary? Which would mean he's already paid you for your annual leave.

Would be interested to see what others say about the situation. 

Jeremy535897

If you were only paid 80% for the weeks allocated to holiday, you could ask for them to be topped up. If your employer has said he will give you one week holiday back though, I wouldn't push it.

adamp87

It doesn’t sound OP was aware they were or might of been paid for those holidays in April & assumed they’d been cancelled to be fair.

That said there’s no need for employers to shout (if that’s the case) and berate employees for these types of questions, it’s not the first post we’ve seen. I manage a business and couldn’t imagine having a go at one of my staff just because they’ve asked a question like that.

Jonesy1977

When you say you were paid 100% for that month do you mean March or April?  
If you had holiday booked in the lock-down period then you should have been paid 100% for the holiday period (2 weeks in April), however this is not absolutely the case as it will depend on the wording of the letter that you agreed to when you were furloughed.  To be honest, unless you cancelled your holiday and had it approved by your employer at the time then honestly they have done nothing wrong and are in fact being generous in offering you a further paid week.  I understand It is not your fault that you had to cancel your holiday but it was  not your employers fault either, yet you are expecting them to compensate you with additional holiday?