Holiday taken reducing overtime pay. Is this legal?

[AllDruggedUpWithNowhereToGo]

I’m looking for some advice/guidance.

Basically last month I have been paid for my standard hours (162.5) but instead of getting paid my full amount of worked overtime, they have deducted the holiday hours I used that month from the 15 hours of overtime I had accrued over the month.

So my payslip reads

hours worked - 162.5 - standard rate
holiday hours - 10 - standard rate
overtime hours - 5 - 1.5x standard rate

Can they do this? As it seems unfair and like I am being penalised for taking holiday.

This is incorrect. I do my works payroll.

We give overtime after the 37.5 hours a week. A days holiday is 7.5 and would be included in the 37.5.

So any overtime you do is paid.

Paid as overtime.

It is only if they didn't work 37.5 hours basic, example they only worked 6 hours one day that overtime would be taken to make the full basic hours.

Thank you both, now how do I explain this to the payroll woman who thinks she is correct? I have a meeting with her tomorrow to discuss it, but she has already told my boss I’m wrong!

It depends when your holiday was ie on standard rate hours or over time rate

There is no right or wrong
only company policy
check your contract!

Good grief
your first port of call should be your contract
I would not go in all guns blazing
Unless very new and inexperience - she will know company policy

Surley annual leave is taken from your contracted hours, why on earth would anyone work overtime to then have it deducted as holiday??

If that is the bizzar way your company works then you need to avoid overtime in any month you take any annual leave!

ACAS and the Gov.uk will have some information.

Companies can't just make their own policies and put it in their contracts, there are Employee Rights and policies that they have to follow.

There are many rights and wrongs.

I didn’t think I meant to clarify

with the very specific issue the Op is asking about

Statutory annual leave
By law, you're entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid holiday ('statutory annual leave') a year.
Your 5.6 weeks' statutory holiday is usually made up of:
20 days = 4 weeks

• 8 days (which can be the year's bank holidays) = 1.6 weeks Your 5.6 weeks' statutory annual leave entitlement might include bank holidays, depending on your contract.

is she quotes that, they will simply say….

”and?”

that is talking about holiday entitlement. Not this issue!

But company policy has to be legal, although to be clear I'm only saying what my company does and believes to be legal

You can't ask people to work overtime for 1.5 salary then decide not to pay the .5 as they are on holiday which they are entitled to take from their standard work hours.

It should be 152.5 standard
10 holiday standard
15 1.5x standard

Otherwise you are not getting the holiday your regular hours entitles you to

Are you saying Op that previously this has never happened and this is the first time it has?

They will have a payroll system.

mot wont be this lady in the back room with a calculator and a blunt pencil.

if this has never been the case ever previously and none of the OP’s colleagues have had the same - then yes, an error seems likely.

but the op doesn’t clarify whether this is the first time ever happened. Have you spoken with any colleagues op?

at this time of year everyone acutely aware of holiday pay entitlement!

Yes, that it.

@Ohthatsexciting The issue is that they can't take overtime worked off because she has taken a holiday that she is entitled to.

You aren't making sense.

There is somebody entering into the payroll system what basic hours & overtime has been worked.

Payroll is either done in house or by an account but there is always a human doing it using a calculater and pen. There are laws to be followed.

accountant

If first time ever happened - that’s what I am curious about.

Given that holiday pay has to include overtime, I'd be surprised that they could legally do this.

Holiday pay is accrued hours, so hours that you have earned over the defined period. Have you accrued enough holiday hours to take the amount of hours you have taken?

If you have a regular working pattern of paid overtime for example, they must pay that for your holiday days.

www.xperthr.co.uk/faq/when-does-overtime-have-to-be-included-in-holiday-pay/156145/

To clarify, there is a lot of back history of my wages being incorrect during lockdown/furlough and me having to fight to get it corrected. This particular issue has never happened before, and no other employee has holiday time shown on their payslips (I asked colleagues to check).

I have worked for the company for 10+ years and rarely had issues with my wages until the last 2-3 years.

I don’t have a contract, none of us do and never have had, it’s a small company so gets away with it.

and yes I have the holiday to take as I have taken very little over the last 3 years due to furlough being an option and my workload being reasonably constant. I currently have approximately 47 days owing.

Sounds mad to me! I would speak to ACAS before your meeting