Company says 20 days holiday is the max, not 28. No contract.

[Gluteustothemaximus40]

So DH has now left his job (let go). We were expecting holiday pay. We based it on the fact the law states 5.6 weeks per year working out roughly to be 2.33 days per month.

we worked out that he had accrued 8 days. He took 5 during his time there as this was pre booked before starting. So we thought 3 days were left to be owed.

The HR person said there’s no more holiday owed as holiday is only 20 days, therefore nothing left to pay.

I thought 28 days was statutory? I will be calling ACAS tomorrow to see if they can help but if in the meantime anyone can help ,that would be most appreciated.

if it makes any difference, they close on bank holidays.

also, no contract.

thank you.

20 is the legal minimum.

Well 20 and the bank holidays. If they close bank holidays then 20 will be right.

It can be expressed as 20 days plus bank holidays which meets legal requirements. I don't think they get included in the accrued holiday calculation. (Unless someone else says otherwise)

Are you thinking of 20 days plus 8 bank holidays?

28 days is statutory but it includes bank holidays. For him to have accrued 8 days total he would have to have been there for 3.5 months he is likely to have taken the August bank holiday? I also don't know whether the 28 days have to accrue evenly or if the 20 days accrues evenly and the 8 bank holidays accrue as they happen, if that makes any sense?

28 days includes bank holidays, so it sounds like all the staff get those days off anyway. Assuming dh worked a standard Monday to Friday and got the normal bank holidays off, then it makes sense that his allowance is 20 days.

Sorry I’ve not explained myself well. 20 plus the 8 bank holidays should be the min. I did the calculator on the gov website which said he accrued 8 days. They are saying he only accrued 5, as holiday is only 20 days.

But you said they closed bank holidays. They don't get added on as extras.

If they are closed on bank holidays, then rather than not be paid, he would be made to take them out of the 28 days, leaving 20. Which makes sense?

Was he off on the August bank holiday?

Good question, yes he had august bank holiday off so that’s one day there 👍

If it's twenty plus the bank hols then I imagine they close because no staff are working? So the fact they are closed is irrelevant.

Unless he doesn't work Mondays or something?

If he didn't have to book bank holidays off because the business is closed, then they are separate from his holiday allowance and they are correct that he gets 20 days and would have accrued 5.

He worked Mon-Sat. Thanks for explaining about bank holidays being separate. With no contract it’s hard to work it out.

In jobs where the company closes for bank holidays you do not accrue them, so if the bank holiday's haven't happened yet you don't get paid for them. You only accrue the 20 days

Thank you so much ☺️

28 days is the legal minimum and this is what he should accrue. As he was only in the company for a short period and only took 5 days plus 1 bank holiday, he should be paid for the extra days. The HR person in his company sounds inexperienced. Here is a useful calculator
https://www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights/calculate-leave-entitlement

He can call ACAS to clarify and raise a claim with them if the company refuses to pay.

5.6 weeks can include bh. You can ask them how it has been calculated.

28 days is the minimum and may or may not have bank holidays included. I think they are wrong with their calculations

Was he there for the two May bank holidays?

Call ACAS. You are correct. I run the HR and payroll for my business.

What months did he work?

Did he do overtime. You accrue holiday on overtime.

5.6 weeks is legal minimum. If he worked 6 day weeks he is entitled to 33.6 days per year.

I have fought this before. Assuming he works regular hours on each day, follow the below formula to email them the correct calculations.

working days or hours pw X 5.6

/ this number by 52

X this number by total number of weeks employed

This is the final amount of hol pay accrued in days or hours.

finally, - the number of days or hours taken as holiday since starting (including bank hol)

You can then multiply this by hourly rate (if salary, amount per year / 52 / hours worked pw to get hourly rate) to work out exactly what is owed.

hope this helps.

Did he work 6 days a week though, or have a day off midweek?