Can I accrue holiday on maternity leave if i'm hourly paid?

A question about : Can I accrue holiday on maternity leave if i'm hourly paid?

As the title says really.

I'm hourly paid and they include holiday pay in my hourly rate, I enter timesheets etc. I am not allowed to take holiday any time off is unpaid. I am however entitled to sick pay/mat pay etc.

I actually work regular hours on my hourly paid contract (slightly odd I suppose) and have done for 5 months and have a letter from the HR manager stating my hours of work per week (as I requested this) but it is NOT on my contract.

I am going on maternity leave soon and am told I am not entitled to accrue any holiday whilst off. Is this correct? Thanks

Best answers:

• No-one ever answers my questions! I'm too complicated xD
  I do like to get advice here in addition to taking matters into my own hands but for anyone interested in a similar question I have recieved the following information from ACAS and my local Union.
  There is currently no case law on this matter due to no-one taking this to tribunal as a matter of sex discrimination but technically as I am an employee NOT a worker - meaning I am obligated to work a certain number of hours per week AND I am given employment rights identical to those on perm contracts I am therefore entitled to accrue annual leave whilst on maternity leave.
  Very interesting as the law is very grey on this matter as no-one has ever challenged it... Wonder if it's worth it.
• [Patience is a virtue, they say.]
  Whether you are paid by the hour or for an annual salary but are an employee there is no reason that I can see for you to be treated any differently from any other permanent member of staff. Being paid on an hourly rate basis doesn't mean you aren't "permanent". I'm not surprised to hear that there isn't case law on it. Why should there be - an employee is an employee is an employee however their pay is calculated.
• Thanks - I am usually very patient but getting very stressed out over my employer (actual maternity calculation was wrong too) and getting nowhere! I was sitting pressing refresh for a similar answer as I always doubt myself!
  I would have thought so too but as my contract is technically zero hours apparently this makes it a 'grey area'. Though as I said I never do zero hours and am obligated to work a set number per week.
  Am I ok then in approaching my employer with this and requesting annual leave for the period of my maternity? Standard for all employees is 30 days per year. I just feel a lack of confidence in asking when they have been so difficult and adamant on other things in the past. I feel I need some sort of 'proof'!
• So you are not actually contracted for a fixed number of hours a week? If so, If you are on a zero hour contract then I would suggest that your pay accrual is on hours worked. So I don't think you will succeed.
  If you had a fixed hours contract then yes the holiday would accrue on that basis but whatever % x 0 is 0.
• Yes I do have the letter from hr which was issued after the contract. Was just worried they may argue that as my contract is zero hours it won't count.
  In my contract I have to give a weeks notice if I cannot work the hours agreed.
• Oh and a months notice either way for notice period.
• https://www.gov.uk/holiday-entitleme...ts/entitlement
  Other aspects of holiday entitlement
  Workers have the right to:
• get paid for leave
• build up ('accrue') holiday entitlement during maternity, paternity and adoption leave

Other aspects of holiday entitlement
Workers have the right to:

• get paid for leave
• build up ('accrue') holiday entitlement during maternity, paternity and adoption leave

Paid annual leave is a legal right that an employer must provide

• https://www.gov.uk/calculate-your-holiday-entitlement/y
• Thank you. I will use the link in my letter to hr.
  Is it not a loop hole to pay holiday on top of the hourly rate, showing the split on the payslip? Obviously this does not apply during maternity leave.
• Holiday pay must be associated with an actual period of absence from work. It may not be paid as an additional salary (this is referred to as "rolled-up" pay where holiday pay becomes in effect a pay supplement
• https://www.gov.uk/holiday-entitleme...pay-the-basics
  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 (known as 'rolled-up holiday pay'). If a current contract still includes rolled-up pay, it needs to be re-negotiated.
• Thank you that's very helpful. There are hundreds of staff on such contracts here....think they are aware it's a minefield.. I am definitely going to raise the issue of accruing holiday during maternity leave.