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Hi,
Im currently an agency worker employed through an umbrella company. I have been working for the same company since the end of July this year.
As its coming to Christmas with people taking time off, I thought id ask what my entitlement to leave is. I asked my boss who says as far as he's concerned he doesn't need to do anything about it.
I messaged my contact from the agency who spoke to the umbrella company. they said my holiday pay its added ontop of my weekly pay, however after a bit of googling from my understanding this should be clearly laid out on the payslip which it isn't.
Where do i go from here, any advice would be greatly appreciated.
From the government website:
Holiday pay should be paid for the time when annual leave is taken.
An employer cannot include an amount for holiday pay in the hourly rate (‘rolled-up holiday pay’).
If a current contract still includes rolled-up pay, it needs to be re-negotiated.
[url= https://www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights/holiday-pay-the-basics ]More info[/url]
Yeah it's nothing to do with your boss but sounds like something might be wrong or a misunderstanding with the agency/umbrella. Mine gets paid when I take it and request it from the agency (ie I have to tell them x hours). Because my contract year starts in December I basically don't have enough leave for xmas/new year so have to take a hit and gradually claim it back later. Which sucks. Can't wait to be free of this nonsense way to work.
Its a really frustrating way to be employed, he has another labourer on the books with him who is absolutely useless, and is a p1ss taker with skiving off, whereas i have bought myself a van and built my own kit of power tools which allow me to do more at work.
but he's entitled to annual leave this Christmas and probably being paid the same as me, whereas I'm not
If you are employed PAYE in the UK, you are legally entitled to 20 days (+ 8 public holidays) paid holiday per year. Paid as if you were at work, not rolled up into the pay for other weeks. It for your employer (the umbrella) to sort.
he has another labourer on the books with him who is absolutely useless, and is a p1ss taker with skiving off, whereas i have bought myself a van and built my own kit of power tools which allow me to do more at work.
Irrelevant.
but he's entitled to annual leave this Christmas and probably being paid the same as me, whereas I'm not
Relevant. Why?
It appears the advice you seek is not in relation to the contractual arrangement you have agreed to, as that has now become a lesson for you and knowledge to prevent or avoid similar situations in the future.
I feel that the advice you seek is more how to deal with the potential of resentment becoming a fixation and very much part of your approach to the world. In which case, my advice to you OP, is to learn to let that shit go. Give yourself a choice as to how you react to stuff like the unfairness of the world, don't make a habit of following the rabbit of resentment down that rabbit hole. There are many ways people deal with this and all the other hurts and pains that we experience. One way is not necessarily better than another, we each find our own paths.
Instead, turn your negative energy into a positive one and do some inquiring into an approach for emotional reconciliation that you feel you can relate to.
Peace out dude 8)
@slackalice: are you for real, or a piss-taking jackass?
I’m working via an agency, I accrue x-number of days leave a year according to the number of days I actually work, and paid accordingly.
I can back-date leave to cover any previous time I didn’t work, including weekends, although I only work Monday-Friday.
TBH, when I got the job, I was so glad to get it, I hadn’t looked into holiday entitlements, but what I get seems perfectly reasonable.
The OP’s entitlements should be set down somewhere, and will be via the agency, and not the organisation he works for, that’s the situation I’m in, any holiday I take has to be agreed to by my team leader, because I work with four others, and a replacement has to be found for me.
Hey CZ, I am for real.
I've been self-employed too, in many ways, sometimes also as a sub-contractor alongside FTE's in full knowledge that I didn't share the same FTE conditions of employment.
Swings and roundabouts my old fruit. We make our own world/reality/life experience, taking responsibility for the way we react to the good and the bad is step number 1.
Your path, is clearly not the same as mine.
As I understand the OP, he's not self employed; he's employed by an umbrella company. If that's the case, he's entitled to paid holidays.I've been self-employed too
It all depends on how you are contracted via the agency. We employ agency staff and through the agency we use, the agency staff have a choice of not getting paid holidays but geting paid a higher hourly rate. Or getting paid holidays but earning at a lower hourly rate, they then need to accrue the holidays before they can take them.
Most of the guys we employ go for the higher pay and then just take unpaid leave when they want time off.
It is not really for the company you are working at to sort out your holiday pay. You need to speak to the agency to find out your contract. Either way, the company you are working at should give you the time off if it is a reasonable request. But as an agency worker they may just expect you to work as some companies can be ruthless with agency staff.
I was the same i was really glad to get the job, because it was for a company i liked the look of an tried making contact with previously.
It was only when everyone was booking their leave for xmas i thought to ask the question about what I'm entitled to, my boss assumed i got nothing and he pays nothing which is benefit of him taking on agency, then not being able to get sense from agency. wish i had a bit more knowledge about it prior to signing up with an agency. I also wouldn't want to leave because i enjoy where I'm working and learning alot. just frustrating when your the only one who's having issues working out leave entitlement
What are you actually going to do about it, tpoles?
Do they mind you taking time off at xmas or are they expecting you to be there?
If you want time off, just tell them & the agency, hopefully the boss won't get the arse... You should get paid still (since they umbrella will have been keeping your holiday pay aside until you took some).
they don't mind me taking the time off, I've asked the agency to look into it, who is now going to be chasing up the umbrella company. beause agency are under impression holiday is rolled into my weekly pay but theres no mention of it on my payslip which I'm fairly sure it should be.
if the umbrella company insist they are doing it right, I'm not really sure what the next step would be
The next step . . . is to phone the ACAS Helpline (google it).
I should really know this as I am contingent worker policy manager for the one of the largest users of non perm staff in the uk..
I think holiday's fall under the Agency Worker Regulations introduced in 2011. As such after 12 weeks you should be getting the same as a perm colleague on same grade.
Hi. I can help, manager with an agency and been supplying temp for 11 years. Firstly why work umbrella? Since home to work expenses were cancelled there is no point and you are better off paye through your agency(unless you work various contracts and you want to show continuity of work with 1 employer for a mortgage) as you are paying the umbrella co a weekly fee. Secondly rolled up holiday pay is against the conduct regs so you shouldnt be getting it weekly. E mail is in my profile if u want a chat.
Sorry op, just book marking as my lad recently started with an agency...
Hope you get it all sorted though!
tpoles, look at the [url= https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/32121/11-949-agency-workers-regulations-guidance.pdf ]official government guidance[/url] (page 34). I am sure the agency and the umbrella company will know exactly what it says, but you may need to point out that you know too.
I by chance met my agency person for the first time today which wa a coincidence.
I emailed my Payroll company. they told me i am not entitled to holiday payoff my rate of pay so haven't been retaining any pay each week. which sounds strange. and if id like a copy of my contract again to let them know
think i will phone them tomorrow
There's a difference between an agency worker and a contractor.
If you have an umbrella company then that suggests your a contractor.
You can be contracted via an agency but that does not make you an agency worker.
There's a difference between an agency worker and a contractor.If you have an umbrella company then that suggests your a contractor.
You can be contracted via an agency but that does not make you an agency worker.
this is true - i'm a paye agency worker and get paid leave, contractors through an umbrella I know do not get a/l oay but were placed in the role via an agency.