Government Opens Consultation on Holiday Entitlement

As a result of REC campaigning, the government has today announced a consultation on the calculation of holiday entitlement received by part-year and irregular hours workers, following the recent Supreme Court judgment in the Harpur Trust v Brazel case. This case changed the way holiday entitlement was calculated for workers who were engaged on a permanent contract but only worked irregular hours or for part of the year. The judgement in this case ruled that the 12.07% accrual rate that had been used previously was no longer applicable. You can read more about the outcome of the case in our legal insights.

Following the announcement, the REC has been pushing government to address the issues caused by the judgment. We previously wrote to Jane Hunt, then Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets, highlighting the need for government to introduce new guidance or legislation to clarify holiday entitlement calculations for agency workers. We have also discussed this issue with numerous officials from the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The government has now opened this consultation which seeks to address these issues and ensure there is a clear and fair calculation method for workers.

The REC will be responding to this consultation on behalf of the industry. If you are interested in sharing your views as part of this, please email them to Patrick.milnes@rec.uk.com. You can also respond to the consultation directly.