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Ask Employment Law |
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Remember: There is no substitute for legal advice on the actual situation
you find yourself in. The information posted on this site is for general
information only, is based on |
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Question: |
Time Off: I am a
temporary agency worker. Am I entitled to paid holiday? |
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Answer: |
Under
the Working Time Regulations 1998 all workers are entitled to receive four
weeks paid holiday per annum, including temporary workers working via an
agency. Many agencies try to get round this by having a slice on top
representing a ‘holiday’ element on top of the normal hourly rate; the idea
being that the agency worker then saves up that top slice to use when he or
she wants to take time off. In
early 2006 the European Court of Justice handed down it’s judgement in
Caulfield v Marshalls Clay (and others) on the issue of whether employers
could get round the obligation to give paid holiday by rolling it up into the
normal hourly rate. Confusingly, the ECJ held that employers should not pay
an extra slice for ‘holiday’ on top of the hourly rate. However, if the
employer does so anyway, it can set-off the extra money paid against the
payments it should make for a specific holiday period. Having said that, employers still have to
clearly distinguish between the hourly rated pay and the holiday top slice for
example on the payslip. This
decision is good news for Employment Agencies and other employers who prefer
to avoid paying for specific periods of holiday leave, and basically means
that they can go on as before. However its not so good news for the agency
worker. See also employment status of agency
workers Last
reviewed: July 2010 |
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Employment
Solicitor Reculver Solicitors Tel
0207 324 6271 Regulated
by the Solicitors Regulation Authority ©
Reculver Solicitors. 2005- |
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