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Original poster

Zero hour contract and holidays

30 replies

nellytheelephant1980 · 24/06/2022 16:17

I've just accepted a zero hours contract (suits me perfectly as a top up to my normal salary to cover extra bills etc).
I am just wondering about annual leave as we've got 2 holidays booked over the summer (totalling 2 weeks)

On a zero hours contract can I just go on holiday without worrying and say I'm unavailable that week?

Thanks

OP posts:
Hoppinggreen · 27/06/2022 14:03

Jalisco · 27/06/2022 13:21

I have a zero hours contract with a PS employee for 2 or 3 days a month. It should really be a freelance contract but due to IR35 they designate me an employee. I get 8% holiday pay added every time they pay me for some work to cover holiday pay
**
Well there isn’t anything lawful about that then! Which is why employers need to be very careful. Statutory holiday is 12.07% of hours worked – not 8%. So they are underpaying you AND breaking the law. And if the amount paid for holiday isn’t separately listed then they have no evidence as an employer that they are paying you anything at all for holiday, so you could go to a tribunal and claim the full 12.07%! It is STILL illegal to pay it this way – rolled up holiday should not be done at all, full stop. But if the employer did pay it correctly and transparently then the tribunal couldn’t let them off the hook, but there would probably be no award made given that they could show that they had paid the correct amount.

Apologies, it is 12.07%.
My mistake, someone mentioned 8% earlier I think which confused me but they ARE paying the correct rate. It IS listed separately as well.

Jalisco · 27/06/2022 15:38

Hoppinggreen · 27/06/2022 14:03

Apologies, it is 12.07%.
My mistake, someone mentioned 8% earlier I think which confused me but they ARE paying the correct rate. It IS listed separately as well.

Show quote history

Then that would "cover their backs", but it still is wrong - it is very clear that holiday pay should be paid when holiday is taken, and not rolled up. If you think about it, the reason for that is obvious. Many people would simply absorb the holiday pay into their day to day costs and then never take any holiday. Holidays are there for a reason and Benidorm's economy isn't one of them. People need rest and time away from work.

Hoppinggreen · 27/06/2022 15:52

I agree but as I only get 2 days a month work from them that I can refuse and I am not guaranteed to get it at all I dont see how I would take holiday. I give my availability 1 month in advance and they send me work.
I think it should be an outside IR35 contract, so does my Accountant. When I questioned why it was they said they didnt know but it was designated as such and that was that. My choice was to take it or not.
I dont get sick pay or maternity but I do get pension contributions

zerohour · 27/06/2022 16:09

I am employed as a zero hour casual worker and we get paid our holiday pay each week on top of our wages.
We get our hourly rate and then another 12% added for holiday pay. These are listed seperately on payslips as working hours and holiday pay.

creditslip · 28/06/2022 14:38

Comefromaway · 27/06/2022 11:21

Sleepyboydog.

I used to employ someone for 3 hours per week on zero hours. I calculated their holiday pay and paid it to them in lump sum three times a year in August, December (Christmas) and March/April to co-incide with times we were closed so they were definitely not working.

Our zero hours contractors often only work term time - so they do take holiday it's just not formalised into requested - they just say they aren't available. It sounds like we have to document the situation differently to make it lawful the reality nothing of substance will have changed. It's been a useful discussion thanks to all who contributed.

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