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Original poster

Company wants me to pay back holiday days.

562 replies

Mooshamoo · 28/02/2023 09:55

I started in a job in November 2022. We have an online annual leave system .
At the start of January 2023, 21 days on our online system became available to me for me to take.

I asked my manager could I take two weeks off at the start of the year. I took the last week of January and the first week of February off. This was approved by my manager. I took them. I was then moved to a new manager. Which was the way the company worked. New starters were with one manager. After two months you were changed to another manager

The company was pretty abusive and at the end of February I decided to leave.

I left. I then got an email from my second manager saying I had taken more annual leave days in the time I worked there, then I had accrued. And that I have to pay this annual leave money back. It is 550 euro. I'm in Ireland. This is a lot of money to me as i am now in between jobs.

Can they do this. My first manager who approved the annual leave days, never told me that I did not have enough annual leave days to take. She approved them. She never told me at any stage that if I left the company that I would have to pay these annual leave days back. If I had known that I wouldn't have taken them .

Can they do this to me now?

OP posts:
TidyDancer · 28/02/2023 09:57

So did you give notice or just left?

Greblegable · 28/02/2023 09:57

Yes this is pretty standard. You get allocated a certain amount of days for the year. If you had left not taking any you would have been paid for them instead.

Timeforachangeisitnot · 28/02/2023 09:57

Well they can in Scotland. You have been paid for holidays you have not yet earned. Yes you are owe them the money.
suggest you work out a payment plan and offer them that.

Lastqueenofscotland2 · 28/02/2023 09:57

Greblegable · 28/02/2023 09:57

Yes this is pretty standard. You get allocated a certain amount of days for the year. If you had left not taking any you would have been paid for them instead.

yes this.

Roggers · 28/02/2023 09:58

Yes they can do this, I’ve had it happen before. If you take more than you accrue then they will normally want it back. Mine came out of my final payslip, but I think you can request to pay it in instalments. They don’t have to agree to this though I don’t think

BillyMack · 28/02/2023 09:58

Yes they can. You accrue holiday each month you work there. You hadn’t earned the holiday you spent so you will have to pay it back.

Ohdearnotagain76 · 28/02/2023 09:59

I believe they can yes, as they paid you for work you never done. The terms and conditionsof the holiday allowanceshould be in your contract, and even its not surwly you didn'tthink you could of accumulated that much holiday. Perhaps you can ask for a payment plan or something similar, hopefully their be understanding whilst you get yourself back on your feet. Good luck

AnnoyedFromSlough · 28/02/2023 09:59

They will have allowed you to take the holidays you would have accrued by the end of the holiday year. You left before then, so you didn't accrue enough holidays.

I know it's not the answer you are looking for, but yes. Otherwise you have effectively been paid for time you didn't work.

Roggers · 28/02/2023 09:59

And with this bit

Can they do this. My first manager who approved the annual leave days, never told me that I did not have enough annual leave days to take. She approved them. She never told me at any stage that if I left the company that I would have to pay these annual leave days back. If I had known that I wouldn't have taken them .

Did they know you were leaving? If they didn’t know then why would they warn you? If you’d stayed there long enough to accrue them then you wouldn’t have to pay it back. It’s because you took 2 weeks and then left soon after

MustBeThursday · 28/02/2023 09:59

This is standard for most places surely? You have a certain number of days available to you take per year but it's on the assumption that you will be working there the full year. It would be somewhere in your contract information I'd imagine

MimiSunshine · 28/02/2023 10:00

Yes, your holidays are for the year. But you have actually ‘earned’ them yet. So yes you do owe them the money back.

they wouldn’t tell you at the time that you’d have to pay it back if you left because they wouldn’t be expecting you to leave.

VWCVT6 · 28/02/2023 10:01

In our company contract:

In the event of the termination of your employment for any reason, you by signing this agreement consents to a deduction being made from your salary equivalent to any holiday taken in excess of accrued entitlement. If your final salary payment is insufficient to allow for the whole of any deduction, you will be required to repay the outstanding amount due to the Employer within one month of the termination of your employment.

So I would have to pay it back.

RosettaTheGardenFairy · 28/02/2023 10:01

Yes this is standard; holidays are pro-rata-ed based on you working there the full year. Similarly, if you were to hand in notice and not have used the annual leave you had earned, they would have to pay you out those days, or take them off your notice period. They may allow you to set up a payment plan if you ask.

Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 28/02/2023 10:01

Yes - it's perfectly reasonable for them to do so, and I think every company I've ever worked for has operated in the same way.
Sorry OP.

WaddleAway · 28/02/2023 10:01

Yes, sadly you have taken more days than you accrued in the time you worked there, so they are entitled to take the money back. Your manager wouldn’t have told you that you didn’t have enough days to take as they would have assumed you were going to be there until the end of the year. If you’d left without taking any annual leave they would have owed you the days that you had accrued.

Original poster
Mooshamoo · 28/02/2023 10:02

Yes but they never informed me about any of this at any stage.

I was a bit naive as I had been off work for a while. So when I saw I had 21 days available to take, I just thought I could take them at any stage of the year.

I asked my manager could I take the annual leave at that stage. Surely she should have said : you only have so much annual leave built up, so you can only take 2 days?

Why let me take two weeks?
And why not inform me at any stage that If I left the company I would have to repay these hours.

Surely it is their responsibility to tell me that if I leave the company I will have to repay these hours.

If I had known that, I wouldn't have taken the annual leave.

They didn't inform me of that.

OP posts:
Insideallday · 28/02/2023 10:03

Yea of course. Some companies allow you take holidays before you actually accrue them otherwise everyone would seek holidays at the same time. You were paid the leave in good faith before you accrued them, so you owe them the money.

there is probably something in the company about it.

Badbudgeter · 28/02/2023 10:04

I'd agree that they can, certainly where I am. My contract states that too. My holiday year runs April 1st- March 31st. I'm having the first two weeks off for Easter holidays. If I quit within 4 months I will owe them money for excess annual leave and it should be deducted from my final pay packet. If they fail to deduct they can chase me up though.

LadyHarmby · 28/02/2023 10:04

Mooshamoo · 28/02/2023 10:02

Yes but they never informed me about any of this at any stage.

I was a bit naive as I had been off work for a while. So when I saw I had 21 days available to take, I just thought I could take them at any stage of the year.

I asked my manager could I take the annual leave at that stage. Surely she should have said : you only have so much annual leave built up, so you can only take 2 days?

Why let me take two weeks?
And why not inform me at any stage that If I left the company I would have to repay these hours.

Surely it is their responsibility to tell me that if I leave the company I will have to repay these hours.

If I had known that, I wouldn't have taken the annual leave.

They didn't inform me of that.

It will be in your contract of employment. The law assumes you read it and agreed to the terms by signing it.

WaddleAway · 28/02/2023 10:04

Mooshamoo · 28/02/2023 10:02

Yes but they never informed me about any of this at any stage.

I was a bit naive as I had been off work for a while. So when I saw I had 21 days available to take, I just thought I could take them at any stage of the year.

I asked my manager could I take the annual leave at that stage. Surely she should have said : you only have so much annual leave built up, so you can only take 2 days?

Why let me take two weeks?
And why not inform me at any stage that If I left the company I would have to repay these hours.

Surely it is their responsibility to tell me that if I leave the company I will have to repay these hours.

If I had known that, I wouldn't have taken the annual leave.

They didn't inform me of that.

Have you got your contract to hand?

TrashyPanda · 28/02/2023 10:04

You were given your annual leave allowance for the whole year - 52 weeks

You took 10 days leave - almost half your yearly allowance and left 8 weeks into the leave year.

to accrue 10 days leave, you would have to work 6 months.

yes, you must pay them back.

DoratheAurora · 28/02/2023 10:04

It's standard everywhere I've worked. If you leave part way through the holiday year, your entitlement is pro rata. If you've taken more leave than you should have, you have to pay back the excess, if you haven't taken all your entitlement, you either get paid for it, or can take it during your notice period and leave early (terminal leave).

KievsOutTheOven · 28/02/2023 10:05

Mooshamoo · 28/02/2023 10:02

Yes but they never informed me about any of this at any stage.

I was a bit naive as I had been off work for a while. So when I saw I had 21 days available to take, I just thought I could take them at any stage of the year.

I asked my manager could I take the annual leave at that stage. Surely she should have said : you only have so much annual leave built up, so you can only take 2 days?

Why let me take two weeks?
And why not inform me at any stage that If I left the company I would have to repay these hours.

Surely it is their responsibility to tell me that if I leave the company I will have to repay these hours.

If I had known that, I wouldn't have taken the annual leave.

They didn't inform me of that.

It will be on your contract.

Aprilx · 28/02/2023 10:05

Mooshamoo · 28/02/2023 10:02

Yes but they never informed me about any of this at any stage.

I was a bit naive as I had been off work for a while. So when I saw I had 21 days available to take, I just thought I could take them at any stage of the year.

I asked my manager could I take the annual leave at that stage. Surely she should have said : you only have so much annual leave built up, so you can only take 2 days?

Why let me take two weeks?
And why not inform me at any stage that If I left the company I would have to repay these hours.

Surely it is their responsibility to tell me that if I leave the company I will have to repay these hours.

If I had known that, I wouldn't have taken the annual leave.

They didn't inform me of that.

Oh don’t be so faux naive. Of course you had not accrued two weeks of leave after two months! Your overused holiday will be deducted from your final payslip and perfectly legal.

nextime · 28/02/2023 10:05

It's not their problem you are naive. Check your contact this should be written in there. You will owe them the money but maybe ask for a plan to pay back X amount per month if you don't have it all straight away.