TUC: Workers cheated out of PS2bn paid holidays

According to a TUC study, employees missed out on 2 billion pounds of holiday pay in the past year.

The study found that 1,1 million employees failed to take any of their 28-day holiday entitlement last year.

The hardest hit were black and ethnic minorities, where 6% of them did not get paid holidays last year compared to only 4% of white workers.

The lowest-paid workers are most likely to lose their holiday entitlement. According to the TUC analysis, the most affected jobs were waiters/waitresses (59,000), home care workers (55,000) and kitchen and caterer assistants (50,000).

The TUC calculated the lost holiday using the average hourly wage and normal weekly hours of those who did not receive paid holidays. Last year, the average worker lost PS 1,800.

The number of women who lost their holiday pay was slightly higher than the number of men, with 5544,000 female employees losing holiday compared to 547,000 workers.

The TUC stated that the main reasons why people are missing out on holidays were unrealistic workloads which do not allow for time to take leave, workplace cultures in which workers fear they will be treated unfavourably if they take time off; employers who deliberately deny holiday requests; and managers who fail to follow the law.

Yesterday, the union, at its annual conference, stated that the government should take action to address the issue of workers “cheating” of their holiday pay in the new Employment Rights Bill.

The bill includes the creation of Fair Work Agency which will have the authority to punish bad employment practices, such as not paying the minimum wage and not allowing employees their holiday entitlement.

A survey conducted shortly after the election found that 6 out of 10 voters were in favor of the creation a single enforcement agency to combat poor employment practices.

Paul Nowak, TUC general secretary, said: “We deserve to take a break and spend time with family and friends.” More than a hundred thousand workers have not received the paid leave that they are entitled to. And thousands of others have not been paid their basic rights, such as the minimum wage.

The Conservative government did nothing but sit back and watch bad employers rob their employees of their basic rights at work. The Tory government was more interested in preventing people from getting what they were entitled to by introducing anti union measures than properly funding enforcement agencies.

This week, Congress will discuss how to improve standards in the workplace. These shocking results show us why we need both the Employment Rights Bill, and the Fair Work Agency. The working people deserve fair treatment and a minimum level of rights to be upheld.”

Personnel Today offers a range of compensation and benefit opportunities.

Browse other compensation and benefits jobs