Historic Issue with Missing Holiday Pay

SieIso

Hi All,

I posted something on this months ago but I now have an update and I wanted to try to ascertain some additional information.

A colleague and I worked part-time at a company for approximately 20 years each. I joined in 2000 when I was a student and left around 2020. From the start, we were excluded from holiday pay, when this was queried it was always deferred but a stipulation was made by the company that we would need to provide evidence that holiday pay was an entitlement, this was provided on multiple occasions through several different managers but the issue always went nowhere. Around 2006 we met with the area manager who advised that the backlog of accumulated holiday pay over the years was going to be "too high" to pay out as both of us had been working in excess of 25 hours every week and we frequently breached full-time hours. The area manager advised that the owner had made a compromise offer of a £500 payment added to a pension pot with an additional £1-£2 paid in each week by the company on our behalf. My colleague and I both rejected this as it was much too low and we wanted the cash instead of a pension pot but reluctantly accepted as no further offer would be made. The area manager advised that in 20 years time, we would be thanking the owner as compound interest would make the pot very appealing. This was the only offer the business was to make. A further agreement was made that holiday pay would start immediately, however, in reality, this didn't start until around 2010 due to excuses from the company. Multiple times the area manager was asked for documents on the pension but again we were stonewalled and told that everything was as it should be. A few months ago I was able to track down the company pension pot only to discover it was empty and this was the same for my colleague. I sent a complaint to the company about this and they replied with a message from the owner stating that it was not an issue for him because the area manager whom he employed had been sacked in 2012 due to serious fraud and theft which subsequently resulted in a court case and a conviction. I told the owner via email that it meant that my colleague and I with very long service had been left significantly out of pocket. 

As of today we met with the owner of the company along with their general manager and accountant. It was highlighted that we both had exemplary records and that the business had failed us as despite pursuing it for many years. The owner admitted that up until 2012 no holiday pay was paid to us despite it being a legal requirement. He further clarified that this was made right with other part-time employees in 2012 but we were wrongly excluded by the shop manager from the process due to us having accumulated "too many years". The owner advised that he was not going to contest our accounts as he believed them to be honest and truthful but he didn't know how to make an offer as there was so many years in play and his paper trail had ran out for us. He is going to consult on the matter but is there anything that we can suggest?

Thanks in advance.

JGB1955

I'd start by asking for 12.07% of your annual pay.  
Rolled Up Holiday Pay (Employer FAQs) | DavidsonMorris

SieIso

JGB1955 said:

I'd start by asking for 12.07% of your annual pay.  
Rolled Up Holiday Pay (Employer FAQs) | DavidsonMorris

They are having difficulty locating what our hours were as they were very inconsistent. Some weeks we may have done 60, others just 25. On my last year with the company I was down to 12. 

nyermen

Do you have any pay records / bank statements etc going back?  Might be a good indicator of hours if so, but maybe bank dependent / whether you kept records.

SieIso

nyermen said:

Do you have any pay records / bank statements etc going back?  Might be a good indicator of hours if so, but maybe bank dependent / whether you kept records.

Like the company we have very little records with the exception that the owner remembers us with the firm, we had a good record and that we did push for this to be resolved internally for many years while with the firm.

lincroft1710

Having just checked back on your previous thread it seems your employer didn't issue payslips until 2015, so you may be able to salvage something from your final 5 years of employment.


As I (and others) said on that thread, if your can't evidence the hours you worked, just take what's on offer, 

SieIso

I have spoken to a former manager, they advised that there was a red circle around mine and my colleague's name in relation to holiday pay and this it was not to be paid to us as there was an ongoing case cover multiple years and the area manager who has now been sacked for fraud hoped that we would eventually stop pursuing it. His story more or less aligns with my own.

lincroft1710

SieIso said:

I have spoken to a former manager, they advised that there was a red circle around mine and my colleague's name in relation to holiday pay and this it was not to be paid to us as there was an ongoing case cover multiple years and the area manager who has now been sacked for fraud hoped that we would eventually stop pursuing it. His story more or less aligns with my own.

Can't see that this helps you in any way.


I will reiterate yet again, with no record of hours worked or wages paid, you have no way of knowing if what is on offer is fair, so will just have to accept it.

badmemory

What about P60s which are a legal requirement & should have been copied to HMRC.  Who would have thought HMRC could actually be useful!!

SieIso

badmemory said:

What about P60s which are a legal requirement & should have been copied to HMRC.  Who would have thought HMRC could actually be useful!!

Do they have them going back to 2000?

badmemory

I have mine going back before 1970.  You won't know until you check.