Holiday Pay — Member Update
Holiday Pay — Member Update
What is this about?
For many years, the Council calculated holiday pay based on basic pay only. If you regularly worked overtime — whether that was extra shifts, weekend working, Bank Holiday rotas or other regular additional hours — that overtime was left out of your holiday pay calculation. That meant when you took a week’s leave, you were paid less than you would have earned in a normal working week.
This was wrong in law. A series of Employment Tribunal rulings — most significantly from 2014 onwards — established clearly that regular overtime must be included in holiday pay. If overtime is a regular and normal part of your working pattern, your holiday pay should reflect your normal earnings, not just your basic rate.
The Council should have corrected this from 2014. It did not do so for a significant number of workers. Barnet UNISON has been pursuing this on behalf of members and the Council has now accepted in writing that regular overtime should be included in holiday pay calculations.
Who is affected?
The workers we know are most directly affected are depot staff in Waste, Recycling, Green Waste and Street Scene. But this issue is not limited to depot workers. Any LBB employee who regularly works overtime as a normal part of their job could be affected — including staff in social services, children’s homes, libraries and other services. We have asked the Council to provide data on all affected workers across the workforce, and we are still waiting for that information.
If you regularly work overtime and have done so for a number of years, you may have a personal interest in this claim.
Where are we now?
Barnet UNISON has been in formal negotiations with the Council through the Joint Negotiating and Consultative Group. Those negotiations are now moving towards a conclusion. We expect to be in a position to consult members on a proposed offer before the summer.
When we have a formal proposal from the Council — setting out who is covered, how far back it goes, and how the figures have been calculated — we will share the full details with affected members and seek your views before anything is agreed.
We are not there yet, but we are close. Watch this space.
If you have any questions in the meantime, contact the branch at contactus@barnetunison.org.uk
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