Hours worked and holiday entitlement

Tomc

Hi, asking on behalf of a friend as I don’t know the answer. 

He works approx 55 hours per week over Monday to Saturday in a privately owned smallish builders merchant. He has been with them for over 7 years. He and his colleagues alongside him don’t get any proper breaks as if phone rings it needs answering and if customers turn up they have to be served. So it’s a case of grabbing a few minutes to eat when he can. 

Over the last year or more he has probably had a maximum of 2 weeks off (not counting Sundays). There was time at Christmas and some days here and there. 

Should he be entitled to money for  holiday time he didn’t take over that year? What’s complicates things is that he doesn’t have a contract so no amount of leave had ever been agreed. Previous years he has taken more time off and got paid for it.
 Both he and I both think perhaps there should be be an entitlement of sorts regarding holiday time and some pay if it’s not taken? He does appreciate he’s lucky to have a job with the ways things are currently. 
Thank you. 

Lomast

There is an entitlement to normally 5.6 weeks paid holiday. I don't believe you can be paid for not taking statutory holiday but can be forcanything above the legal entitlement.
He needs to find out what he is entitled to and make sure he books it off

getmore4less

Statutory minimum 5.6 weeks

Paid at average of last 52 weeks.(since April 2020

Law allows carry over of 1.6 weeks but covid has increased that.

No right to be paid for unused.