Susan's Legal Bits

In May 2009 Susan was interested in.....

....the 48 hour working week and holiday pay

Hello everyone,

This month I have been thinking about the 48 hour working week opt-out which MEP's voted for abolishing in December. We have been able to opt-out of being limited to the number of hours we work each week for some time now but the thought of having this right taken away from us has been playing on my mind. Not only would it affect those working in the NHS but I can't help worrying about farmers - how can they possibly stop harvesting their crops just because they suddenly clock over the maximum limit to a working week set at 48 hours ? Of course there is still much consultation going on regarding this and we are unlikely to see anything definite until at least 2012 but it's certainly something I am going to be keeping an eye on.

I also wanted to touch on the surge of end clients going into liquidation/administration recently. Here at Gabem we invoice for the services our clients/employees carry out for third parties and unfortunately have no prior knowledge nor control over those agencies or companies and their finances. What I can reassure you of though is that we chase unpaid invoices immediately, continue to chase week after week in conjunction with our employees and the information they share with us and handle any notification of liquidation/ administration quickly and efficiently . We make it our top priority to ensure that any outstanding invoices we have on our systems for our employees' services are lodged with the handling company appropriately.

I have recently had a couple of queries regarding holiday pay. Please be assured that here at Gabem we don't practice 'rolling up' and actually do reserve holiday pay to enable you to receive pay at the time you take a break away from work. This has historically been a contentious issue with several clients preferring the rolled up method whereby they received an element relating to holiday pay in their wage each week but, having studied case law and reviewing DTI guidance several years ago, we are extremely confident that reserving holiday pay is more in keeping with the overall aim of the Working Time Regs and our treatment of you as a true employee.

Finally, for those of you who are currently seeking your next contract, please keep in touch with us. We can't find work for you but do have several contacts in lots of industries that we will be happy to pass on should you wish to phone in and let us know your situation.

Have a good month,

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All comments provided on my blog are for informational purposes only. My thoughts and opinions are my own with agreement from my employer as being suitable for sharing with the wider world. Any advice, or writing that might be taken as advice, should not be deemed in any way as professional Legal advice and are only the musings of a HR practioner whose sole aim is to help where she can.