Just trying to forestall a problem I may have with an agency I did some work for recently.
My understanding is that an agency employee on PAYE is entitled to holiday pay equating to 12.07% of their gross pay, and that the practice of agencies using “rolled-up” holiday pay, where holiday pay is included in the hourly rate is now illegal under the Working Time Directive unless the employee has specifically agreed to this, and the amounts are fully detailed on payslips.
Is this correct?
Harry Monk:
Just trying to forestall a problem I may have with an agency I did some work for recently.My understanding is that an agency employee on PAYE is entitled to holiday pay equating to 12.07% of their gross pay, and that the practice of agencies using “rolled-up” holiday pay, where holiday pay is included in the hourly rate is now illegal under the Working Time Directive unless the employee has specifically agreed to this, and the amounts are fully detailed on payslips.
Is this correct?
It’s covered under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 from recollection Harry.
And my understanding is that you are correct. Last time I had a problem with an agency I just took them to court 
eagerbeaver:
It’s covered under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 from recollection Harry.And my understanding is that you are correct. Last time I had a problem with an agency I just took them to court
I’ll talk to them tomorrow but I can see this going the same way.
Harry Monk:
eagerbeaver:
It’s covered under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 from recollection Harry.And my understanding is that you are correct. Last time I had a problem with an agency I just took them to court
I’ll talk to them tomorrow but I can see this going the same way.
Get 'em Harry 
Harry Monk:
Just trying to forestall a problem I may have with an agency I did some work for recently.My understanding is that an agency employee on PAYE is entitled to holiday pay equating to 12.07% of their gross pay, and that the practice of agencies using “rolled-up” holiday pay, where holiday pay is included in the hourly rate is now illegal under the Working Time Directive unless the employee has specifically agreed to this, and the amounts are fully detailed on payslips.
Is this correct?
No.
Where the hours are irregular they can calculate holiday pay as an average of the previous 13 weeks substituting any week where there was no pay with one where there was, ie in the last 13 weeks if you only worked 12 weeks they’d have to go back to the 14th week and use that.
All holiday pay must include overtime.
Rolled up holiday pay was deemed to be legal only it was clearly itemised on the wage slip how much it was.
12.07% “rolled up” is a good system, as once that money is in your pot - it’s yours subject to tax and NI when you elect to take it.
“Average hours based over the last 13 weeks” is a BAD system, because if you had any gaps in those weeks - your “pot” (which you don’t actually have) starts to waste away…
Thus, if you do 13 weeks solid work, get stood down for 13 weeks, leaving you to scramble to some other agency to get work during the interim - when you come back to agency one, your “pot” is ZERO because the average hours for the “past 13 weeks” was ZERO.
Don’t put up with “Wasting Pots” which are not pots at all - they are just a con.
Go for the 12.07% option, as it’s clearly defined.
Agencies running the “Average Hours” system will often sidestep and make excuses for why they can’t pay you the full whack this week (after you’ve just done 13 weeks maxed out) and by the time they get around to paying you at their convenience - your payment has already started to waste away…
I pointed this out to an Ashford agency I signed up for once, and I said “After 13 weeks of work, I want the full amount of holiday pay added to my 13th week’s wage packet, and I don’t care how much tax and NI I’m paying on it”.
13 weeks later, and I never got a single shift at this agency, despite them being “over-run” with “ongoing” ahem work.
Just another bunch of crooks exposed!
Jogging on…
Winseer:
“Average hours based over the last 13 weeks” is a BAD system, because if you had any gaps in those weeks - your “pot” (which you don’t actually have) starts to waste away…Thus, if you do 13 weeks solid work, get stood down for 13 weeks, leaving you to scramble to some other agency to get work during the interim - when you come back to agency one, your “pot” is ZERO because the average hours for the “past 13 weeks” was ZERO.
Sorry but that is completely and utterly wrong. As I said in my post, the law says that where there are weeks when no work was done they have to be substituted with weeks where there was work done. So in your example if you’d not had any work in the previous 13 weeks they’d have to calculate your average based on the 13 weeks YOU HAD DONE ANY WORK before that so they may be going back 26 weeks or more from the week you take your holiday.