According to TUC analysis, 2.2 million employees are not getting the minimum paid leave entitlement they are due, with 1.2 million not getting any paid leave at all.
This has been attributed to one in 12 UK workers bearing unrealistic workloads, holiday requests being denied by employers, or employers not keeping up to date with the law. Employees are entitled to a statutory annual minimum of 28 days paid leave.
It was shown that 9.2% of female workers and 7.2% of male workers were affected, resulting in nearly £3 billion worth of paid leave being lost each year.
The TUC stated that HM Revenue and Customs should be given new powers to clamp down on employers who deny staff their statutory entitlement and went on to say that minimum holiday entitlements are vital to reducing overwork, stressing that working excessive hours can severely affect an employee’s health.
TUC general secretary - Frances O'Grady - said:
"We're now in peak holiday season, but while many workers are away enjoying time off with friends and family, millions are missing out. And that puts them at risk of burnout. Employers have no excuse for robbing staff of their well-earned leave. UK workers put in billions of hours of unpaid overtime as it is. The Government must toughen up enforcement to stop bosses cheating staff out of their leave."
Adrian Crawford - a partner at law firm Kingsley Napley - stated that it had not been made clear whether employees are being denied leave or are choosing not to take it.
He said:
“The suggestion that there are employers who are manipulating the system seems difficult to believe, so there needs to be further analysis in that respect. It’s certainly possible for employers to get things wrong. Education plays a really important role here, and a lot of smaller businesses who might not have strong HR departments might not fully understand the law.
He added:
“Annual leave is a health and safety issue; we know that taking time off is important in terms of staying healthy. Forcing companies to pay compensation over missed leave seems retrograde, and as we often see with millionaires, having more money will not make you happier.”
An employment lawyer at Howes Percival - Simon de Maid - stated:
“Some employers may get caught out by issuing old contracts that do not have the correct number of minimum days of annual paid leave. They can also slip up with self-employed and casual workers where there’s an assumption that because they’re not employees they’re not entitled to leave. This isn’t a case of unscrupulous employers, it’s much more likely that people just haven’t kept up to date with the law,” adding that HR and line managers play an important role in making sure workers take their leave entitlement.
He advised:
“Have appropriate procedures in place, communicate with employees, and keep track of who is taking leave, when they’re taking it, and how much. Taking annual leave is really important for employees' mental health, and if someone isn’t taking it there could be an underlying reason for that. It could be that they’re afraid they’re under-performing, that they’re stressed, or that they don’t want to lose out on income. Employers need to monitor leave and work on the underlying causes to address the problem."
