Accrued Holiday Pay payout for Agency worker

[seniorcit]

Until recently my husband, who works for an agency, was able to request payout of his accrued holiday pay just before we went on holiday. Now he has been told that he must wait until he returns before he can receive it. Apparently an agency worker cannot now receive holiday pay at the same time as a weekly wages payment. Can anyone clarify this please? Many thanks in anticipation.

[Buenchico]

I can 'see where they're coming' from but I think that the agency has adopted an over-strict interpretation of the rules.

Some agencies used to add 'holiday pay' directly onto an employee's regular pay. For example if the employee was working for £6 per hour, instead of 'banking' about 65p of holiday pay for every hour worked, they'd simply pay them £6.65 per hour instead. That meant that the employee would effectively lose their right to a 'real' paid holiday because, if they requested one they'd simply be (correctly) told that "you've already had the money in your weekly pay packets".

So now 'banking' of holiday pay (rather than including it in weekly pay) is a statutory requirement. However, if an employee now takes a holiday after, say, 20 weeks of employment I can see nothing in the rules which prevents the agency from giving him 19 weeks accrued holiday pay before he starts that holiday. I can understand why they wouldn't be able to give him the 20th week of holiday pay at that time, as they'd have failed to 'bank' the money in accordance with the rules.

Chris

[Maydup]

Its not a case of cannot but "will not". The agency have decided to pay in this way for their own reasons. Probably new software that can't manage holiday pay at the same time as weekly wage and its easier for them to change the rules rather than overide the software. There's no legal reaosn for it.

[factor-fiction]

Isn't this simply the same situation that most employed staff are in? Some companies will give you holiday pay in advance but in my experience that happens rarely these days. Usually if you are paid weekly/monthly you receive the same pay at the end of each week/month regardless of any holidays.