The UK Supreme Court has unanimously dismissed the appeal in the case of Harpur Trust v Brazel which considered the holiday entitlement of those workers who are on permanent contracts but only work for part of the year (part year workers). The claimant was a part-time music teacher who worked variable number of hours during … Continue reading
The UK Court of Appeal has given its judgment in the case of Smith v Pimlico Plumbers and has allowed the appeal by the appellant in relation to his claim for holiday pay. The case considered whether the worker (who had been incorrectly identified as self-employed) was within time to bring his claim for paid … Continue reading
L’approche de la période estivale rime avec l’arrivée des vacances annuelles, mais aussi l’enchaînement de deux jours fériés en l’espace de 8 jours. La Fête nationale (le 24 juin – jour de la St-Jean Baptiste) et la Fête du Canada (le 1er juillet) tombent cette année toutes les deux un jeudi. Afin de dissiper les … Continue reading
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has handed down its judgement looking at a workers right to claim holiday pay. The claimant, Mr. Smith, worked for the respondent, Pimlico Plumbers between 2005 and 2011, and was considered throughout the six year period to be self-employed independent contractor. As such, he had no entitlement to paid annual … Continue reading
Monday May 18, is Victoria Day (Journée nationale des patriotes, or National Patriot’s Day, in Quebec); a holiday which most employees are entitled to take off and receive public holiday pay. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in emergency leaves, temporary layoffs and reduced schedules. As a result, some may have lost track of upcoming long … Continue reading
Le lundi 18 mai est le jour de la fête de la Reine (Journée nationale des patriotes au Québec); un jour férié pour lequel la plupart des employés ont le droit de prendre congé et de recevoir un salaire pour jour férié. La pandémie de la COVID‑19 a donné lieu à des congés pour situation … Continue reading
The UK Job Retention Scheme (JRS) opened for online applications on 20 April 2020. Access to the online portal can be found here. The Government has also published a separate guidance note here which provides details of how to calculate 80% of the employee’s wages to claim through the JRS and some helpful worked examples … Continue reading
As we start the new year with a new Government in the UK, we consider the important employment law changes that will, or may, come into effect in 2020. New right to a written statement of terms Currently, employees who have been continuously employed for more than one month must be provided with a written … Continue reading
As 2020 quickly approaches, there are a number of upcoming statutory holidays that would trigger obligations of employers to their employees. Below, we have summarized some the most important obligations of provincially regulated employers in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, as well as federally regulated employers, to their employees with respect to the upcoming … Continue reading
Comme 2020 approche à grands pas, il y a un certain nombre de jours fériés à venir qui créent des obligations pour les employeurs envers leurs employés. Nous avons résumé ci-dessous certaines des plus importantes obligations ayant trait à ces jours fériés pour les employeurs régis par les lois provinciales de l’Alberta, de la Colombie-Britannique, … Continue reading
The law on holiday leave and pay in the UK is continually developing. The Court of Appeal has recently ruled on another holiday entitlement case, holding that permanent employees, who work for only part of the year, are entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks and that employers cannot pro-rate their holiday entitlement to reflect … Continue reading
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in the UK has recently considered whether voluntary as well as non-guaranteed overtime should be taken into account in calculating the amount of holiday pay. The question arose both under the terms and conditions of the claimants’ employment, but also pursuant to the EU Working Time Directive (No.2003/88) (WTD). The … Continue reading
The Supreme Court has dismissed the latest appeal by Pimlico Plumbers Ltd (the Company) against the employment tribunal’s decision that one of its plumbers, Mr Smith, was a “worker” under the provisions of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA) and the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR). The Supreme Court held that, on the facts of … Continue reading
The Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) has ruled that the method of enforcement of the right to paid holiday in the UK Working Time Regulations (WTR) is incompatible with the EU Working Time Directive. This is because, if an employer refuses to pay a worker for a period of holiday, under the … Continue reading
A recent decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that employees who regularly work voluntary overtime beyond their contracted hours may now have those payments taken into account in calculating holiday pay. Article 7 of the Working Time Directive (2003/88/EC) (WTD) provides that workers have the right to at least four weeks’ paid annual … Continue reading
Over the past few years we have seen a number of cases considering what payments should be included in the calculation of holiday pay. These cases have held that commission, contractual overtime and certain allowances should all be included. The question has remained as to how voluntary overtime should be treated. A recent employment tribunal … Continue reading
This post was contributed by Lindsey Hooper, Associate, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP (London) As mentioned in our briefing posted in December 2014 (Holiday Pay: Where are we now?), there has recently been litigation in the UK in relation to the correct calculation of holiday pay and the factors which should be taken into account. The current … Continue reading
Following a recent decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal, employers now need to calculate holiday pay to include non-guaranteed compulsory overtime. For the latest advice from the London employment team on how to calculate holiday pay, please view our briefing.… Continue reading