How this lad’s zero hours court victory could help you unlock money you’re owed
A zero hours worker is urging other employees to check their holiday entitlement after he was awarded nearly £600 over unpaid holiday
LAD who has a zero hours contract with a Plymouth security firm has been awarded nearly £600 over unpaid holiday - a right he says many fellow workers ignore they have.
Helier Heath, 23, worked as a security guard for Crown Security Solutions for about three months.
During his time at the company, the young man did not receive any holiday pay. After doing some digging about his legal rights as a zero hours worker, he took his employer to a small claims court.
He told the Sun Online: "I checked my holiday rights because I expected to be paid some holiday when I took leave as it was in the contract, but I'd never been paid it (and there was no way to claim it either) so I looked up what the law said on it."
He added that he first tried to raise the issue with his employer by email.
Mr Heath said: "Their excuse was that I hadn't given them enough notice - as its a zero-hours contract, my contracted hours were zero.
"And of course zero hours workers are not required to work any hours that are offered - so they had 'deducted' this from my holiday pay.
"This was of course a lie as no one else had ever received any paid leave. It also didn't stand up in court."
Mr Heath was awarded £562 for his unpaid holidays in the small claims court.
The firm he worked for also had to pay £153 for his travel expenses and an additional £140 for his court fees - making it a total of £855.
He is now urging other zero hours workers to hold their former employers to account.
"My advice for those on zero-hours contracts is to be sure of your rights and to make sure you are paid what your employer must legally pay you."
Mr Heath, who now works in shipping, admitted that when working on a zero-hours contract it is difficult to enforce your legal rights as you could have your hours cut if you "make a fuss".
Holiday pay - what you're entitled to
IF you work, you’re entitled to paid holiday.
- The rule applies to any worker whether you are working full-time, part-time, agency or if you are a casual worker, according to Citizens Advice.
- Your statutory holiday entitlement depends on how many days or hours you work a week. Your employer might give you more but that's up to them.
- You won’t be entitled to statutory paid holiday if you’re: self employed (you run your own business) or if you are in the armed forces, police or civil protection services - although your employer should still give you paid holiday under your contract.
- Sometimes an employer will try to get around paying holiday pay by telling you that you’re self-employed, when actually you’re not. Citizens Advice recommends you to check whether .
- You can use this tool to calculate .
But he said that if you've left the company, it is worth claiming some money back.
"If you have left within the last three months then you can go through an employment tribunal which is easier and offers you more protection.
"If there are lots of you in the same firm with the same problem, its worth talking to your colleagues and possibly taking action together, and if you are a member of a trade union, contact them!"
The way zero-hours contracts operate is that employees only work when they are needed and are often given little notice before shifts.
The amount of pay will depend on how many hours they work.
Workers on zero-hours contracts often get no sick pay, but their holiday pay should be included due to working time regulations.
Legally, zero hours workers have the same entitlement to paid holiday, based on the average hours they have worked.
WORKERS' RIGHTS What are zero-hours contracts, how many UK workers are on them and why do employers use them?
Despite this, says thousands of workers on zero-hours contracts miss out on paid holiday because they are either lied to by their employer or they do not know their rights.
Citizens Advice boss Gillian Guy previously said that there are still far too many "rogue" employers and employment agencies prepared to "flout the law and profit from exploitation."
She added: “Left unchecked, the behaviour of such rogue employers creates injustice not only for the workers they exploit, but also for law-abiding employers who quite rightly want – and are entitled to expect – a level playing field on which to compete fairly, within the law."
Small Claims Court - how much will it cost you?
THE small claims court is the low-hassle way to take legal action for up to £10,000 against a firm or individual - but how much will it cost?
- You will have to pay your fees upfront.
- If you win it won't cost you anything as you'll get your court as well as your claims fees back. You can also ask to get money for certain expenses like travel costs.
- But if you lose, you won't get that money back so you should be realistic with your initial claim.
- According to it costs:
- £25 - £410 Initial claim fee - to start your claim (when done online).
- £40 Court allocation fee - to get the claim to the court (if claim is over £1,500).
- £25 - £325 Hearing fee - paid if and when your case gets to court (when done online).
- If you're on benefits or have a low income, you may qualify for remission of the fees
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