rumours

[HTPostman]

I don’t really understand why the holiday back pay winds people up soo much. When I started on a 20 hour contract I knew that I’d only get 20 hours while on holiday. It’s what I signed up to. I worked a lot more hours than that but I still knew that was how it was. Also knowing I could only work 20 hours a week if I wanted. Yes I know managers try and bully u etc to do more but u could just do 20 hours if I wanted. Also if your contract gets moved up to full time over Xmas period then u do get the full bonus, u just get the extra bit in January.

Because it’s the law. If it was just a matter of morals it wouldn’t bother me so much. But it’s not, it’s written in black and white and Royal Mail, one of the biggest employers in the country, Is ignoring it and fighting it.

It’s a bit like if your DOM decides to take 2 hours pay from everyone’s payslip each week for himself , so in the deductions column it shows ‘DOM beer fund -2’.....we wouldn’t stand for it would we, I can guarantee just about everyone would walk out. Or if your line manager stole £20 from your wallet every single week, you wouldn’t put up with it.

So why is it acceptable for, in my case 25 hours to be removed each time I have annual leave when by law I should be paid that extra 25 hours? That’s £1200 ish a year that Royal Mail have decided they don’t want to pay me. About 110 hours where they’ve just decided they’ll keep it for themselves. My question is, would anyone on here gladly hand back £1200 at the end of the financial year to Royal Mail? Anyone offering?

I now expect the ‘if you don’t like it, get another job‘ brigade to reply.

[HTPostman]

The issue of average pay will be settled at the tribunal. We have test cases in the Bristol Tribunal.

Royal Mail only wanted a settlement based on discounting some areas of voluntary overtime or working. Clearly the CWU believe this has been tested already in the high court.

So no this was not part of the original dispute and will be decided in the tribunal and than will be subject to an overall agreement.

What’s the plan b if the tribunal goes badly?

If the union don’t have a plan B I’ll get back what I’m owed then will stick to my 5 hours a day contract.

[Woody Guthrie]

Because it’s the law.

It's not that simple.
It's case law.
Unlike legislation case law can change with every single employment tribunal, it has already several times.

The Court of Appeal addressed the question of whether or not overtime that is voluntary must be included in the calculation of holiday pay in East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust v Flowers and others [2019] IRLR 798 CA. It held that voluntary overtime must be included if it is part of a pattern of work that is sufficiently regular and settled for payments made in respect of it to amount to normal remuneration. This will be for tribunals to decide on the facts of each case.

The right to be paid for non-guaranteed overtime in holiday pay derives from case law of the European Court of Justice, and so applies only to holiday pay for the four weeks' minimum annual leave under EU law, not to the additional 1.6 weeks provided for by the Working Time Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/1833). Employers should decide their policy on how to treat the additional 1.6 weeks' statutory minimum leave and any additional contractual entitlement, but may decide to include pay for overtime in all holiday pay to avoid complicating the administration of payments.

[postslippete]

Rumour has it that Terry and Dave are going to be turning up at our depot dressed as Father Xmas to reveal a great big swag of our groundbreaking agreement.

Unfortunately, due to covid restrictions they can't be there to hand us our presents in person. And due to the delays in the postal service we might instead get an update online some time in the new year