Holiday pay

Under the working time regulations workers have the right to 20 days' statutory paid holidays a year and cannot, unless their contract has been terminated, agree to take payment in lieu of holidays.

Employers cannot argue that holiday pay has been rolled into the hourly rate to avoid giving workers entitlement to a paid holiday. In one recent case the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that the employers' contention, that agency workers were receiving a rate to take account of holiday pay, was not sustainable unless the employer could clearly show that the employees knew that to be the case.

In the absence of clear knowledge there was an obligation both to pay at the higher contractual rate and to provide paid holidays.

* Gridquest t/a Select Employment v Blackburn and others EAT/598/00