Tag archives: holiday pay

Ontario: Paying employees for the Victoria Day Holiday during the pandemic

Photo of Natasha HyppoliteBy Natasha Hyppolite on Posted in Canada, Coronavirus

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 weekends and public holiday pay requirements. Below is a refresher on employee entitlement to public holiday pay in Ontario and how to calculate pay for employees who’s employment has been affected by COVID-19.

Public Holiday Pay

Generally, employees qualify for public holiday pay on … Continue Reading

Ontario : Payer ses employés pour la fête de la Reine en temps de pandémie

Photo of Natasha HyppoliteBy Natasha Hyppolite on Posted in Canada, Coronavirus, Québec

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 d’urgence, des mises à pied temporaires et des horaires réduits. Par conséquent, certains ont peut-être perdu de vue les longues fins de semaine à venir et les exigences liées au salaire pour jour férié. Vous trouverez ci‑dessous un récapitulatif exposant le droit des employés de … Continue Reading

UK Job Retention Scheme open for applications

Photo of Amanda Sanders (UK)By Amanda Sanders (UK) on Posted in Coronavirus, UK

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 of how to calculate the amounts for different pay periods.  The guidance provides further details of how details will be entered on to the system depending on the number of staff being furloughed.

On 15 April the UK Chancellor made a Treasury Direction under … Continue Reading

Upcoming Employment Law Changes in 2020

Photo of Amanda Sanders (UK)By Amanda Sanders (UK) on Posted in Contracts, General, UK, Uncategorized

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 statement of terms within two months of employment commencing. From 6 April 2020, this right is being extended to include workers as well as employees. In addition, the right to the written statement will be a day one right, meaning that workers will be entitled … Continue Reading

A Festive Reminder: Employee Entitlements during the Holiday Season

Photo of Crystal LiPhoto of Laurie DuhemPhoto of Danielle EmmettBy Crystal Li, Laurie Duhem and Danielle Emmett on Posted in Canada

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 statutory holidays.

Which Days?

Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day

Every jurisdiction in Canada recognizes Christmas Day (December 25) and New Year’s Day (January 1) as statutory holidays. However, only Ontario (under the Employment Standards Act, 2000) and the federal government (under the … Continue Reading

Un joyeux rappel : Droits des employés pendant le temps des Fêtes

Photo of Crystal LiPhoto of Laurie DuhemPhoto of Danielle EmmettBy Crystal Li, Laurie Duhem and Danielle Emmett on Posted in Canada, Québec

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, de l’Ontario et du Québec, ainsi que pour les employeurs régis par les lois fédérales, envers leurs employés.

Quelles sont ces journées?

Noël, lendemain de Noël et jour de l’An

Tous les ressorts du Canada reconnaissent Noël (25 décembre) et le jour de l’An (1… Continue Reading

Holidays for Term-Time only workers not subject to pro rata reduction

Photo of Amanda Sanders (UK)By Amanda Sanders (UK) on Posted in Contracts, UK

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 the number of weeks actually worked.

The case involved a part-time music teacher who was engaged under a permanent zero-hours contract and was entitled to 5.6 weeks paid holiday. During the term she had no normal working hours but the employer paid her an agreed … Continue Reading

Overtime and holiday pay – non-guaranteed and voluntary overtime

Photo of Amanda Sanders (UK)By Amanda Sanders (UK) on Posted in Contracts, Europe, UK

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 case involved a group of employees in an NHS trust, who brought claims for unlawful deductions from wages, relating to two types of overtime – non-guaranteed overtime and voluntary overtime. Non-guaranteed overtime related to payments, where, at the end of a shift, one of the … Continue Reading

UK Supreme Court holds that plumber engaged by Pimlico Plumbers was a “worker” and not a self-employed contractor

Photo of Claire Darbourne (UK)By Claire Darbourne (UK) on Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Europe, UK

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 the case, Mr Smith satisfied the key elements of worker status in that he undertook to carry out work personally for the Company and that the Company was not in the position of a client or customer of a business carried on by him.

Background… Continue Reading

Enforcement of the right to paid holiday under the UK Working Time Regulations ruled incompatible with the EU Directive

Photo of Claire Darbourne (UK)By Claire Darbourne (UK) on Posted in Europe, UK

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 provisions of the WTR, the worker has to take the leave unpaid before he can bring a claim for payment. The ECJ considers that this denies workers an effective remedy for an employer’s failure to provide paid holiday. Furthermore where an employer refuses to pay … Continue Reading

Holiday pay – Regular voluntary overtime should be included

Photo of Amanda Sanders (UK)By Amanda Sanders (UK) on Posted in Europe, UK

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 leave.   This is implemented in the UK by Regulation 13 of the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR).  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 … Continue Reading

Calculating holiday pay – should voluntary overtime be included?

Photo of Amanda Sanders (UK)By Amanda Sanders (UK) on Posted in Europe, UK

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 decision has held that voluntary overtime should, depending on the facts, be included in the calculation of statutory holiday pay.

The case involved 56 claimants all of whom had various different elements of pay in their remuneration including contractual overtime, voluntary overtime, standby allowances, and … Continue Reading

How to calculate holiday pay in the UK – an update

Photo of Claire Darbourne (UK)By Claire Darbourne (UK) and guestauthor on Posted in Europe, UK

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 position in the UK is that workers must receive their “normal remuneration” during periods of statutory holiday. This means that, depending on the regularity and permanency of such payments, certain allowances, commission and non-guaranteed compulsory overtime could form part of an employee’s … Continue Reading

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