Umbrella company compliance specialist, PayePass, has welcomed the news that the government will make ‘rolled-up holiday pay’ lawful for the UK’s 1.6m temporary workers – in turn, handing irregular-hour workers and part-year workers an earnings boost worth thousands.
The government has issued its response to a consultation on holiday pay, confirming (page 24 of this document) that irregular-hour workers will be entitled to receive holiday pay ‘rolled-up’ as part of their pay, meaning it’s paid on top of wages rather than when a temp worker takes holiday.
By not rolling up holiday pay, thousands of temporary workers have their holiday pay unfairly withheld – meaning they lose out on potentially thousands of pounds every year.
More information on the wider announcement, including quotes from the government, can be found here.
“This is huge news,” said PayePass CEO, Julia Kermode. “By allowing rolled up holiday pay, the UK’s growing number of temps and irregular-hour workers will receive what’s legally theirs, which could be worth thousands for every worker.
“Temporary workers who qualify will receive holiday pay when they’re paid their wages, which means they’re guaranteed to receive it,” she continued. “All too often, these workers don’t claim holiday – partly due to the fact that they don’t know they’re entitled to it and partly due to the holiday pay being unfairly withheld from them. It’s no exaggeration to say that hundreds of millions of pounds of holiday pay have been left unclaimed over the years.
“But now there are no excuses for temps to receive what’s lawfully theirs. Rolled up holiday pay will help hundreds of thousands of workers pay their bills at a very difficult time. It goes without saying that the move to make this lawful will also stop those dodgy businesses from deliberately withholding it from their workers.”
Kermode noted that the government has stopped short of announcing a timeline for the introduction of rolled up holiday pay – but says it’s all eyes on the Budget this month, where the Chancellor may set a date in stone.
