Miss Jessica Douglas v Represented by: Herself Roberto & Sons Limited — 2020

Miss Jessica Douglas worked for Roberto & Sons Ltd from 19 February 2020 until 2 July 2020, a period of 19 weeks. The tribunal found that her gross weekly wage was £144 for 16 hours at £9 per hour, that she had taken no holidays during her employment, and that she had therefore accrued 0.365 of a year’s leave, equivalent to 2.04 weeks under the statutory entitlement of 5.6 weeks per year.

The respondent did not lodge an ET3 and did not attend the hearing, but it had written to the tribunal saying the claimant had remained on payroll during lockdown, that no holiday pay had been requested before the P45 was issued, and that at most she would be due £144. The tribunal accepted that holiday entitlement accrues while the employment relationship continues, including during furlough, and that the claimant’s entitlement was governed by the Working Time Regulations 1998 rather than by any greater contractual term.

Applying regulation 14 of the Working Time Regulations 1998, the tribunal held that the claimant was entitled to be paid for accrued untaken leave at the end of employment. It calculated the amount due as 2.04 weeks multiplied by £144, producing a gross sum of £293.76, subject to statutory deductions. The tribunal therefore ordered the respondent to pay that amount by way of holiday pay.