Unused holidays

CyCaboose

Hi,

I am contracting through an Agency and have been accruing holiday hours since last year which I did not use up. I am now leaving the Agency to get a permanent job and have been told they are only paying out my holiday hours for this year.

They said that my unused hours for last year were not used up by end of June 2011 and as a result they have been lost (not paid out just lost). They said they sent an email about this, but I have gone through all my mails from them and there is nothing.

Can anyone tell me if this is correct what they're doing? Past jobs I have worked in any holidays I did not use were always paid out at the end of the year, with maybe the option of carrying a few days over to the next year.

Is it the law that all unused holidays should be paid out?

Thanks

Eoin

We have a "use it or lose it" policy at work as well. Some people have said that this isn't allowed, but it's not like our place to go against employment law at all. There might be lots of grey areas, like making sure that you're given the opportunity to take leave off - if you are, and don't take it - then maybe it's just tough.

CyCaboose

Thanks Eoin... well that sucks if this is the case. it must be the law if they are doing it but if anyone else knows for sure please let me know.

I think I have lost 2 weeks of holiday pay if this is the case, in hindsight it was stupid of me to assume it would be just paid out if it was unused (what I had been used to with other companies), but I would have thought they could at least give me a heads up I was about to lose those holidays - 2 weeks is a lot.

It does seem a bit odd that they will pay them out for the current calendar year when I leave the company (almost making it sound like I am legally entitled to them), but then not paying them out after a new calendar year when I am still working for them.

Eoin

It does seem a bit odd that they will pay them out for the current calendar year when I leave the company (almost making it sound like I am legally entitled to them),

You're certainly entitled to be paid for outstanding leave that you've accrued in the current year.

This page says the following:

In addition, annual leave should be taken within the appropriate leave year or with your consent, within 6 months of the relevant leave year. Further holding over (also known as carrying-over) of annual leave at your wish is a matter for agreement between you and your employer.

But it's hard to tell if that means if they request that you carry the leave over, then it's up to you to consent to that.

CyCaboose

Eoin wrote: »

You're certainly entitled to be paid for outstanding leave that you've accrued in the current year.

This page says the following:



But it's hard to tell if that means if they request that you carry the leave over, then it's up to you to consent to that.

Thats the thing, it sounds to me like they did carry it over (without me asking them to, and without even telling me they did), since they told me now that I had until end of June 2011 to use up my 2010 holidays -- which I didn't use up

so they moved them without me saying a word to them, but they could have at least told me they did so I was aware that I only had that til June to use them up. If I knew that I definitely would have used them. This is partly my ignorance and partly them not giving me any kind of notice that I had holidays that were about to expire.

I've learnt my lesson for next time I guess

RangeR

CyCaboose wrote: »

I've learnt my lesson for next time I guess

It's all you can do. Chalk it up to experience and move on.