Holiday enititlement

[stupidquestionalert]

I'm really hoping someone can provide some clarity on this as I have a temporary/ Emergency contract in work so none of my colleagues can help me.

Am I right in thinking, regardless of anything uk workers are entitled to holiday pay of a few weeks/ days a year? I work in a primary school so I will naturally get Christmas/ Easter/ summer off ( which is great) I was told all holidays would be unpaid and I was happy enough as the time off works with my own kids being off so not getting paid didn't concern me. However I have heard a number of different variations of this from you get paid absolutely zero, to you get paid a weeks pay etc etc. what confuses me is I always thought there was a min entitlement so while I wouldn't get paid all of Easter Christmas and summer I would get a minimum entitlement ( as I would if I worked in a shop for example)

Does any one know the right way of this?

If all your time off due to working in a school adds up to more than 5.6 weeks worth of holidays then you i wouldn't think you'd be entitled to any more.

I imagine your holiday pay is added into your wages and then divided into your monthly payments

Sorry I should have made my post clearer - im not for one minute expecting all the holidays paid but I thought there was a min of 5 weeks or something but is this actually law?! I mean if I have a temporary/ emergency contract can they wiggle out of paying me ?

I think the usual school contract is that you work 39 weeks, accrue paid annual leave of about 5 or 6 weeks that you have to take during the school holidays, and the rest of the holidays is unpaid leave. But rather than getting a different amount each month, they put it all together and you get 1/12 every month.

UK Legal minimum is 20 days plus bank holidays (usually 8 this year is techincally 10 (coronation and good friday next year is in this fnancial year) )

I dont know how schools work

That's great. I've heard that you get everything minus the bank holidays that I've already been paid for so for example, Christmas Day Boxing Day Easter Sunday and Monday I'll will have already been paid for in that months wages so any hours left I should get paid in august as a lump sum

But i don't know if legally I'm entitled to anything

But you’ve also had the whole of Easter, feb half term and will get May half term. That’s most people’s while allowance-you won’t get any extra cash!!

Yes but I didn't get paid for being off for two weeks at Easter and Christmas- I got the bank holidays so I got paid 3 days out of the 14 at Christmas ( Christmas Day , Boxing Day and new year) same with Easter I was off for two weeks but only got 3 days pay.

What does your contract say? The fact that they call it a temporary or emergency contract doesn't mean you won't get your legal entitlement, although most schools give more than the legal minimum afaik.

I don't have a contract I was just told I am emergency cover

I'm a term time only worker and get a certain amount of holiday pay. I also work part time too. So I work 39 weeks, get paid for 45 weeks (plus pro rata bank holidays) and the other 7 weeks are unpaid. My salary is spread over 12 months so I get a monthly salary.

Check that they haven't already included holiday pay into your salary.

Sounds like zero hours set up you get 7 minutes entitlement for every hour worked
some build it in to your hourly rate

Normally if you're on a 'full' contract with a school, you get paid for about 44/45 weeks a year despite working 39 weeks, so you're getting paid for the time you work, plus the legal minimum holidays (20+8 BHs). The rest of the year is unpaid.

However, I don't know how this works with 'emergency cover'. I think you still accrue leave fractionally for the time you work, but it's also probably complicated by when you start, because you probably can't expect to get all the holiday pay if you start at a time where the holiday:work ratio is higher than if you work a whole year.

I'm paid 45 weeks a year (part-time, not teacher) for contracted weeks and holiday. If I want any time off, they're reluctant to sanction it as require you to be available term-time, and if agreed, obviously it's without pay.

Who is your contract with? Are you employed via an agency or directly by the school, academy chain or local authority?

The law on holiday pay for variable hours workers is changing soon, after a Supreme court case brought about by a teacher - google Harpur v Brazel. It will benefit part year workers and variable hour workers greatly.

Give ACAS a call for proper advice if in doubt as to your current entitlement.

No law changes have been confirmed yet on this ruling. Another keyboard lawyer.

Okay, I should have said "probably" changing soon. The company I work for has been advised by our HR advisors and Acas that we should start using the new system of working out holiday pay entitlement now, as when the law comes in any underpayments could be backdated and claimed back by staff members.

I understand it is currently under consultation by the government after the Harpur v Brazel Court case, before becoming law.

I do hope that is correct and accurate enough for you @sittinginmysunnygarden? I am not a lawyer, just somebody who has to try and work this stuff out.

Unless you’re on the Parliamentary body who would propose the bill on any law (which you could be but I doubt it based on your comments) you have no basis to say “probably”!

So to answer your question it’s neither correct nor accurate! You have nothing to work out about a law that doesn’t exist?

UK Legal minimum is 20 days plus
bank holidays (usually 8 this year is*
techincally 10 (coronation and good friday next year is in this fnancial year)

bank holidays don’t have anything to do with your legal entitlement.

you are legally entitled to 28 days holiday. An employer can legally tell you when to take them so they may say 20 of your choosing and 8 bank holidays. This is usually if the workplace is closed on bank holidays. Others will let you take 28 days of your choice.

plenty of people work in professions where bank holidays don’t apply

the coronation makes no difference to your legal holiday entitlement. It’s at an employers discretion whether to give you the extra holiday or not.