A new GLAA Brief 82 - Holiday Pay and Holiday Accrual has been published today.
This brief outlines the GLAA’s position on ‘valid and invalid methods of calculating holiday pay and holiday accrual for workers without fixed hours or rates of pay.’
The main clause for concern in the new guidance is:
'The GLAA has observed increasing reliance on contracts that contain terms stating that the contract between the worker and the applicant or licence holder does not exist or does not subsist between Assignments.
For the avoidance of doubt, the GLAA does not consider, as a general rule, that the presence of these contractual terms relieves an applicant or licence holder of its responsibility to provide workers with a minimum of 5.6 weeks paid holiday. This is because the GLAA does not consider such terms to accurately reflect the reality of the typical worker-licence applicant/holder relationship, or to be compatible with other standard terms of the typical contract.'
It appears the GLAA’s view is agency workers should accrue holiday pay for time in between assignments when they are not actually working, even though there is no mutuality of obligation during such periods.
This is a complex area of legislation, and we will be reviewing the Brief in detail. If we feel there is scope to challenge their interpretation of the legislation based on their brief, we will notify our clients accordingly.
For more information about how this impacts your recruitment business, please contact kareena@lmplegal.co.uk.