Output has been received from the Supreme Court which recently reviewed the tribunal and appeal around the Smith vs. Pimlico Pluming case back in 2018 which clarified that Mr Smith should be clarified as a “worker” and therefore had a number of entitlements under that status.
Due to his judgement, Mr. Smith therefore followed on from the ruling to make further claims in respect of holiday pay due.
For reference, the Tribunal and appeal dismissed the claims as they felt they were out of time, but this decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal leading to the Supreme Court ruling.
The case was based on the “Sash Windows” case where workers were refused the right to paid annual leave incorrectly and where this was the case, the entitlement is carried over indefinitely. The difference with Mr. Smith was that he had used holiday, but it had been unpaid by his employer.
It was also confirmed that the employer would only be in their rights if they had actively encouraged and given the worker the opportunity to take their leave in the holiday year which was not the case.
Due to these decisions, it means more than ever employers must ensure they actively manage holiday leave outstanding in the holiday year, pro-actively encourage their staff to use the leave and ensure all processes and rules included the possibility of losing leave not taken are available, transparent, and accessible by all workers.
