Part time worker denied holiday pay

[debbiedoodoo]

I have worked for 3 years in a nursery which is open term time only for 18 hours a week. I work the full 18 hours and am paid at an hourly rate. My wages are spread pro rata across the year.
In my contract from 3 years ago it states I have no entitlement to paid holiday. When I started the nursery was open 13 hours a week term time and I worked the full 11 hours.
From April 2009 opening hours were extended to 18 although we were not given new contracts.
I beleive that from April 2009 there was a Statutory right to 5.6 weeks pro rata paid holiday for part time employees, including those who work term time only and I should therefore be entitled to paid holiday even if I have to take it outside of term time.

I also wonder whether it was illegal for them to state I have no entitlement to paid holiday 3 years ago and whether I should have at that time been entitled to the Statutory 4.8 weeks which applied at that time.

Are there any other mums working term time only who may have had issues with holiday pay or who actually get holiday pay.

Any advice gratefully recieved.

[Shinyshoegirl]

I'm not an expert but I'm pretty sure that part-time employees are entitled to holiday pay just like any other employee. I employ someone part-time term-time only and pay her an hourly rate for the actual hours worked each month. Once I've calculated this total each month, I add on an extra % (can't remember the precise fraction but it's statutory hol days divided by total working days in the year) and this is effectively her holiday pay.

[titchy]

Yes you are entitled to the full time equivalent of 5 weeks paid holiday a year. Very tight employers can include the bank holidays as part of this entitlement, but in practice most don't.

So for example if you work half time (assuming 18 hrs per week is half time), for 26 weeks a year (out of 52) you will be on the equivalent of 25% of full time, so you would be entitled to 25% of 5 weeks, so about 6 (full) days extra pay, each year, so about 42 hours pay.

[theITgirl]

I work as a TA.
However when they calculate my pay they work out 39 weeks pay add on the necessary holiday pay (lets guess at 4 weeks) then divide by 12 to get my pay each month.
Are you sure that this is not happening to you?

[debbiedoodoo]

Thank you for your comments. I think I will have to say something to my boss. Im a single mum and cant afford to miss out on money I am entitled to.

[bellavita]

theITgirl - I work in a school (part-time, term-time only) and that is how my pay is calculated.

[MrAnchovy]

The proper way to do the calculation is here, under Term-time workers. For 39 weeks work you should get 4.7 weeks (4 weeks plus 3.5 days) holiday.

[debbiedoodoo]

The more I think about it, the more I feel my employers are taking us for mugs. We have also been told we are not entitled to SSP which isnt true.

Not only have they never given us our holiday entitlement, we get docked for bank holidays when the nursery is shut even though the parents are still charged for the day. I know we dont have to be paid for bank holidays but at the same time we have no holiday entitlement to take it out of.

The other thing is that the nursery is owned by 2 women whose husbands are both Accountants and one of them does our payroll so I do not believe for a minute that they are not aware of our rights.

All hell is going to break loose at work on Monday ! Personally I cant wait to find another job, which will open up its own can of worms because being paid pro rata means they will owe me money. The last few staff that have left never cottoned on to the fact that they were owed money so they never pursued it.

Oh the joys of having to work !

[Reallytired]

Contact your local CAB. They can help you take your employers to a tribunal. You can take them as joint respondents. Ex employees as well as current employees can take their employer to tribunal.

[junny]

i asked my farmer manager for a changed of my working condition so that i can do permanent night, becase i have a child. She said i need to write to HR. I wrote the letter which was given to my manager, it was not respond to, but they let me do night untill now. now my present manager want to change be back to day. i still have to take my child to and from schol. can she change my contract without me. even it see like my farmer manager did not do anything with the latter i give put i guest put it in the bin