As previous articles have covered, developments in European law require 4 weeks of holiday pay to be the same as that which a worker would normally receive. This means that holiday pay for those 4 weeks each year should have included amounts reflective of overtime and allowances normally worked. Claims for back pay may go back only so far as a 3 month break between times on annual leave.
You will by now be aware of the Agnew v PSNI holiday pay Court of Appeal decision that normal holiday pay should include overtime and allowances and be paid for all contracts members hold with their Employer. The PSNI had lodged a challenge to the Supreme Court, which was due to be heard next month. However, this final Appeal hearing has been postponed to allow space for a mediation process to be undertaken. NIPSA does not know how long this process will take or whether or not the mediation process will be successful at this stage, potentially negating the necessity for a Supreme Court hearing.
NIPSA remains of the firm view, supported by the Court of Appeal decision in our favour, that the continued failure to pay holiday pay is an unlawful infringement of your employment rights. In order to protect your retrospective rights, it would be necessary for you to lodge protective proceedings by way of including your name to a collective grievance already lodged with your employer (the Education Authority) and the lodgement of an Industrial Tribunal application seeking past and future payment of holiday pay. NIPSA has already settled a class action against the EA which has benefitted over 100 members who had not been paid appropriate holiday pay for their roles undertaken on the Extended Schools’ Programme.
So IF you believe that you have either not been paid appropriate holiday pay for overtime/allowances undertaken in your post with the EA within the past 3 months, or IF you hold a second contract with the EA and have worked within the past three months, for which you have not received any holiday pay, as was the case for the Extended Schools’ Programme, please contact