Bank holiday pay and holiday pay problems...

Knifey_Spoony

Hi,

I am having huge problems with my employer re. holiday pay and bank holiday pay. My holiday hours are going up and down every week, as every time I ask them how many hours I have left I get a different answer...none of which are correct, as I have worked it out myself.

Anywhoo...I am now having problems with bank holiday pay.
I have queried how I will be paid over Christmas and New Years, and I think the information they have given me is incorrect.

My working week has been reduced to 3 days for the past year. I work Mon, Tues and Fri every week.
This week I will be paid for Mon and Tues and 8 hours bank hol pay for Xmas day, which is correct.
However,...Stephen's Day is on the Sat, which isn't my normal working day. My employer is saying I will recieve one fifth of my days pay for this day as I dont usually work it. They have then said I will recieve nothing for Mon 28th.
I was under the impression that Monday is a bank holiday, so I would be entitled to 8 hours bank holiday pay for it, since it is a working day for me usually.

Am I right....or wrong?

Thanks a million!

Nody

28th is not a public holiday so why are you not working?

Also by what you said it sounds as where you work is open on the 26th which means that yes, they would count the actual day for the public holiday allowance.

scudzilla

Nody wrote: »

28th is not a public holiday so why are you not working?

Also by what you said it sounds as where you work is open on the 26th which means that yes, they would count the actual day for the public holiday allowance.

28th is a public holiday as far as i know

Nody

scudzilla wrote: »

28th is a public holiday as far as i know

2009 Public Holidays
1 Jan New Year's Day.
17 Mar St Patrick's Day.
13 Apr Easter Monday.
4 May Bank Holiday.
1 Jun Bank Holiday.
3 Aug Bank Holiday.
26 Oct Bank Holiday.
25 Dec Christmas Day.
26 Dec St Stephen's Day

It may be treated as a bank holiday but that don't make it a public holiday same as Good Friday is not a public holiday.

Citizen information on public holidays in Ireland

Knifey_Spoony

Nody wrote: »

28th is not a public holiday so why are you not working?

Also by what you said it sounds as where you work is open on the 26th which means that yes, they would count the actual day for the public holiday allowance.

Sorry, I forgot to mention that the whole business is closed on 26th Dec. That's what made me think the bank holiday then applies on Mon 28th instead?

And nope, I have to take Mon 28th off, which doesn't make much sense really if its not a public or bank holiday.

gerrycollins

Knifey_Spoony wrote: »

Sorry, I forgot to mention that the whole business is closed on 26th Dec. That's what made me think the bank holiday then applies on Mon 28th instead?

And nope, I have to take Mon 28th off, which doesn't make much sense really if its not a public or bank holiday.

your right as far as i can tell.

because the holiday falls on a sat those you it does not affect ie you the bank holiday moves technically to the Monday however in a job where the business would be open both days you are only entitled to claim for one of the public/bank holiday days.

If your job was open on the Saturday you would get it at the one fifth rate and you would have ot work the Monday as normal.

Knifey_Spoony

Thanks GerryCollins,

It's a confusing one, isn't it.
The company are saying that the Sat is the bank holiday, and as its not my usual working day I will be entitled to 1/5 of a days pay*.

However, the company isn't open on the Sat (it is closed 24th, 25th and 26th), so I would have assumed the bank holiday moves to Mon 28th.
They have also said I am off on Monday...which also leads me to believe the Mon is the bank holiday...


*on a side note, I have also heard that since I am on a 3 day week, I should get 1/3rd of the Sat pay, not 1/5th (if I am not entitled to the bank hol pay for the Monday - I do understand that I obviously am not entitled to both days).
Does anyone know if this is true?

Thanks!

gerrycollins

there is a rule that if you work a day that a bank holiday falls ie monday normally ,for the previous 6 weeks then you are entitled to your "normal" hours,for you 8, for that day as you bank holiday entitlement.However if you were to work a Wed,THurs & Fri then the bank holiday would be caclulated as normal.

your company is taking it all up wrong and using the chance not to pay you your full entitlement.Honestly i think they are doing it delibertly to save a few quid but thats just my two cents worth.

for me and my staff we are open on sat so I calculate the Sat as the bank/public holiday.

Nody

gerrycollins wrote: »

there is a rule that if you work a day that a bank holiday falls ie monday normally ,for the previous 6 weeks then you are entitled to your "normal" hours,for you 8, for that day as you bank holiday entitlement.However if you were to work a Wed,THurs & Fri then the bank holiday would be caclulated as normal.

your company is taking it all up wrong and using the chance not to pay you your full entitlement.Honestly i think they are doing it delibertly to save a few quid but thats just my two cents worth.

for me and my staff we are open on sat so I calculate the Sat as the bank/public holiday.

Sorry Gerry but the bank holiday in this case is Saturday; there is no, none, nada public holiday relating to Monday 28th of December. Hence the company is paying correctly 1/5th of the weekly salary for the public holiday when the employee would not normally be working on the Saturday (which is the whole company).

Now the fact that the company is closed on the Monday has no bearing what so ever on the bank holiday pay because Monday is just like any other day of the week. The company could have decided to close the office for Tuesday or Wednesday as well and it would make no difference because those days are only normal days.

gerrycollins

Nody wrote: »

Sorry Gerry but the bank holiday in this case is Saturday; there is no, none, nada public holiday relating to Monday 28th of December. Hence the company is paying correctly 1/5th of the weekly salary for the public holiday when the employee would not normally be working on the Saturday (which is the whole company).

Now the fact that the company is closed on the Monday has no bearing what so ever on the bank holiday pay because Monday is just like any other day of the week. The company could have decided to close the office for Tuesday or Wednesday as well and it would make no difference because those days are only normal days.

i rember a few years ago this coming up also, as it does, and we were advised that because the public holiday falls on a weekend day and the business is open normally it calculated for that day.

however if the public holiday falls as it does when a business is normally closed then the public holiday transferrs to the next working day however at the end of the day only one is applicable in relation to pay. If the 26th was a friday then what your saying is correct according to what Ive been told.

Newaglish

Public holidays falling on a weekend

Where a public holiday falls on a weekend, you do not have any automatic legal entitlement to have the next working day off work. This occurs in 2009 when St Stephen's Day (26 December) falls on a Saturday. This means that Monday 28 December 2009 is not a public holiday. When this happens you are entitled to the normal alternative arrangements concerning employment and public holidays that is:

* A paid day off within a month of the public holiday
* An additional day of annual leave
* An additional day's pay
* The nearest church holiday to the public holiday as a paid day off.

Your employer can require you to attend work on those days.

Source: http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/employment/employment-rights-and-conditions/leave-and-holidays/public-holidays-in-ireland

It's probably a good idea to read the whole link.

One thing which seems wrong about what they have told you is that you'd be entitled to one fifth of a day's pay - that is incorrect. It's one fifth of your normal weekly pay. This applies to people who work irregular hours and it's a method of effectively paying an average day's pay.

Long story short, the public holiday does not move to the Monday but you're still entitled to pay/time in lieu for the Saturday as normal.

Given that you work a 3-day week you're probably entitled to one third rather than one fifth of a weeks pay, although I've never dealt with this situation is practice. Your best bet is to speak to NERA on 1890 80 80 90, they should be able to answer that question.

Nody

No, it is 1/5th of a weekly pay; don't matter if you would work 1 or 6 days normally.