FOAK: Employment Law - Holidays

Can someone clear up something for me.

As I understand it the law has changed so that employees have to take
all holiday due within the calender year and can no longer be paid in
lieu or carry the entitlement over to the new year.

Is this set in stone or is there any flexibility for small companies?

TIA

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Cane

You cannot pay them from April 2009. They can only carry it over in
"exceptional circumstances".

 

Eh?

In this job, my last job and the one before that, I can carry over five
days of unused leave to next year. They make me use it up before the
31st of March though.

I've not seen pay in lieu, unless on resignation, for years.

 

Really?

What happens legally, as an employer, if you do?

Strikes me as yet more unnecessary meddling on the part of the IR /
Government.

--
JackH

98 Honda VFR800FiW
05 Sachs Madass
03 VW Passat TDI Sport
89 Vauxhall Nova 1.3 Pearl

 

This ACAS leaflet explains it.
http://www.acas.org.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=955&p=0

"As a temporary measure employers can also pay employees in lieu of the
additional days or part days introduced on 1 October 2007 (4 days for a
five-day week, 3.2 days for a four-day week and 2.4 for a three day week).
From 1 April 2009 payment in lieu cannot be provided for anything less than
the 5.6 weeks (28 days for those working full-time)."

There's other stuff there about carrying over holidays and "use it or lose
it".

 

Tell me about it. We're busy as **** and I've got a bunch of folk
dashing to use up their holiday before the end of the year. The silly
thing is that the staff would rather carry it over until a time when
they actually want to take it and not miss out on the current overtime
oportunities.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, JackH

Really, really.

Not sure, I can ask my tame HR officer if you like.

It's to prevent evil capitalist running-dog overlords like Cane from
driving their staff into an early grave by paying them not to take
holidays.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Cane

Ah well, you can get away with it up until April next year, and they'll
probably all be dead from overwork by them anyway.

Go for it.

 

Doesn't this just apply to the statutory amount of holiday though? If
you give them more than that, can't they be paid or carry over the
difference?

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Ben

Yes, but get real. This is Cane we're talking about.

 

See here:
http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/employment/holidays/faq/index.html#twenty
http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/employment/holidays/faq/index.html#thirtytwo

I'm not sure what counts as "exception circumstances", mind.

 

See here:
http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/employment/holidays/faq/index.html#twenty
http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/employment/holidays/faq/index.html#thirtytwo

I'm not sure what counts as "exceptional circumstances", mind.

 

Hire more people on flat rate rather than working overtime. That's the
rationale behind the new regs.

Surely if you let people carry over their holidays to next year the problem
will just increase in magnitude?

 

Why would they, it's in their interests to comply.

Isn't this essentially to prevent people from saving up 10 years holiday
and then cashing out at a higher hourly wage than which they accrued the
holiday entitlement?

Over here (and this might be Calif or company specific) there is a cap
on the accrual bucket. I can accrue up to 1.5 times my annual
allowance[1], at which point, my bucket over flows and I don't accrue
any more until I empty the bucket by using some.

[1] a pathetic 160 hours, although that's twice what the average person
gets, cos I've been with the company 10+ years and negotiated it during
my relocation.

 

That *always* happens.

Hang about. So they don't want to take the holidays now, but would
rather claim the time as overtime, and then get back the holidays
later? With the best will in the world, I'd oppose that.

 

To keep everyone happy, so to speak.

Also, if the likes of Cane are asking questions like these with only just
over four months left til the law kicks in, have the changes been publicised
enough by the IR to ensure all are aware?

Financially, yes... happy smiley productive workforce wise, possibly not.

No idea.

--
JackH

98 Honda VFR800FiW
05 Sachs Madass
03 VW Passat TDI Sport
89 Vauxhall Nova 1.3 Pearl

 

see see here here?

 

I guess the point is that the work is contracted to be
completed *now*, hence the need for the staff to be in
the workhou^H^H workshop and doing it, rather than taking
their mandatory holiday and the contract not being
completed on time.

And as Cane says, the work is there now with the opportunity
to put in some overtime with extra cash for xmas, and it
won't/might not be there in a few months time.

 

What a fucking stupid idea.

 

Nah, you can (could) build up sufficient time to get a PROPER holiday. Two
week isn't long enough for even a half decent holiday if you plan on "doing"
the US or Oz.


--
Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19