2 days ago
Urgent warning for workers to check pay for holiday mistakes – you could be owed back £100s
Read on to check if you're entitled to holiday pay from your old job
PAY BACK Urgent warning for workers to check pay for holiday mistakes – you could be owed back £100s
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WORKERS have been warned to check their pay for holiday mistakes, as they could be owed hundreds of pounds.
Experts at have urged people to check if they're owed unpaid holiday earnings from previous employers.
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Here's how to check if you could be owed hundreds in untaken holiday from your old jobs
Credit: Alamy
The first thing you'll need to do is check if you're legally entitled to holiday pay.
If you're an employee, rather than someone who is self-employed, then you're likely to be eligible.
An easy way to check if you're entitled to holiday pay is to check if you get payslips - which should be sent to you by your employer and can be paper or electronic.
These will list your earnings, working hours and any deductions such as income tax or National Insurance.
"If you get payslips, you're likely entitled to holiday pay as an 'employee' or 'worker'," according to the MSE website.
"This is the case whether you work full-time, part-time or on a zero-hours contract. And it doesn't matter if your job is temporary or for only part of the year."
However, if you're self-employed or work a "cash in hand" job, then you likely won't get any payslips and may not be entitled to any holiday pay.
If you are eligible, you should then check how much holiday pay you can get.
You're legally allowed 5.6 working weeks of paid holiday a year - this is known as statutory annual leave - but the number of days depends on how often you work.
If you work full time, five days a week, you'll be entitled to 28 days of paid holidays a year. This may also include bank holidays, but it depends on your employer.
If you work part time, you should multiply the number of days you work in a week by 5.6 to check what you're owed.
So if you work three days a week, you'd be entitled to 16.8 days' holiday a year.
If you're a seasonal worker or you have irregular hours, your holiday pay will be 12.07% of the hours you work in a week or month, rounded up to the nearest half-hour.
So if you work 30 hours and you're paid weekly, you'll be owed four hours of holiday (30 × 12.07 ÷ 100 = 3.621).
How to get your money back
Your employer legally must pay you for your holiday if you leave your job before taking it - even if you're sacked.
This will usually be paid to you in your final pay check.
If you've left your job without taking all your holiday but you've not been paid it back, MSE says you should talk to your boss about getting this money back.
"As a last resort, you may be able to make a claim to an employment tribunal – but there are strict time limits for doing this.
"However, taking this route is a big decision to make, so get all of the facts together first and strongly consider contacting Acas or Citizens Advice for free guidance and support before going ahead," MSE's website states.
The rules around holiday pay changed for irregular-hours workers in April this year, as the government decided to legalise rolled-up holiday pay for these workers.
It extended the same paid holiday entitlement as full-time, permanent employees to temporary workers.
It means these types of workers can now receive holiday pay included in their wages, rather than having to request it as and when they take a holiday.
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