Statistics produced by Trade Union Congress (TUC) reveals there has been a rise in the number of employment tribunal claims for unlawful deductions relating to underpaid holiday.
The report states that 1 in 14 UK workers are not getting their holiday entitlement and estimates that nearly two million employees are missing out on their legal entitlement to paid leave, whilst over one million employees are not receiving any paid leave whatsoever.
The report has also highlighted the number of holiday pay claims is at it’s highest since the fees were abolished in 2017, with claims more than doubling.
TUC confirmed that the majority of pay cases brought before the tribunal were found in the claimants’ favour, with values ranging from £18.94 to £11,000. Most are for a few hundred pounds.
The TUC says the main reasons people are missing out are:
- Workers being set unrealistic workloads that do not allow time to take leave.
- Employers deliberately denying holiday requests and managing out people’s leave.
- Employers not keeping up to date with the law.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:
“Every worker deserves a break to spend time off with friends and family. But millions are missing out on the paid leave they are owed.
“British workers put in billions of pounds worth of unpaid overtime as it is. Employers have no excuse for robbing staff of their leave.
“The government must toughen up enforcement to stop bosses cheating working people out of their holidays. And ministers must not resurrect tribunal fees which stopped people enforcing their rights.”
The TUC wants HMRC to be granted new powers to clamp down on employers who deny staff their statutory holiday entitlement. This would include the power to ensure that workers are fully compensated for missed holidays.
