Summer loving

It may nearly be the most wonderful time of the year. But every time I switch the TV on, it’s full of ads for beach holidays, encouraging people to book early for next summer. Perhaps the travel agents think that the rain (and snow) will have us all reaching for our passports.

But it wasn’t a desire for a tan that had me thinking about holidays. It was a recent tribunal case involving the deduction of holiday pay.

As a general rule, if an employer fails to pay the requisite holiday pay to an employee, that employee only has three months less than one day to bring a claim.

However, if the deduction is one of a series of deductions, then the three months runs from when the last payment should have been made. The theory being that if, for example, the employer has been underpaying holiday pay for a long time, he shouldn’t get away with it just because the employee doesn’t know or is too afraid for his job to raise it.

Of course, where it becomes tricky is deciding what amounts to a course of dealing. In fact, it’s so tricky that in the case in question, the Tribunal found that it didn’t amount to a course of dealing but the Employee Appeal Tribunal disagreed and found that it did! Which shows that sometimes even the experts get it wrong.

If you’re in doubt about whether a deduction (by you or against you) is out of time, take advice as quickly as possible and definitely before I head off to enjoy a cocktail somewhere warm – like the bar!

Kleyman and Co Solicitors. The full-service law firm. We’re never on holiday.