Around 2.2 million employees are not getting their minimum paid leave entitlement, according to analysis from the TUC.
The union estimates that one in 12 UK workers are not receiving their legal holiday entitlement and are thus missing out on nearly £3 billion worth of paid leave a year.
It revealed that the sectors in which workers are most likely to lose out are agriculture (14.9 per cent), mining and quarrying (14.7 per cent), and accommodation and food (13.9 per cent). The sectors with the highest numbers of staff losing out are retail (348,000), education (342,000) and health and social care workers (291,000).
“Employers have no excuse for robbing staff of their well-earned leave. UK workers put in billions of hours of unpaid overtime as it is,” said TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady. “The government must toughen up enforcement to stop bosses cheating staff out of their leave.”
Working people are entitled to a statutory annual minimum of 28 days paid leave (pro rata and including public holidays).
However, the TUC believes that the main reasons people are missing out are: unrealistic workloads that do not allow time to take leave, employers deliberately denying holiday requests and managing out people’s leave, and employers not keeping up to date with the law.
The TUC highlighted that minimum holiday entitlement is a vital part of reducing overwork, giving people time to look after their health and wellbeing.
The government has recently consulted on enforcing holiday entitlements but has yet to announce any plans. The TUC urged ministers to guarantee all UK workers can take the holidays that they are entitled to.
It would also like to see HMRC granted new powers to clamp down on employers who deny staff their statutory holiday entitlement, including the power to ensure that workers are fully compensated for missed holidays.
