Yet more news to pay close attention to if your business uses self-employed contractors on a regular basis.
Following a ruling by the European Court of Justice today, if those contractors are at any point deemed to be workers (and bear in mind the recent Uber & Pimlico Plumbers cases this looks more & more likely in many scenarios) you could be liable for backdated holiday pay for the entire time they have contracted with you.
In the case considered today, the contractor had previously been offered employment and turned it down, preferring to stay self-employed but was still found to be a worker when he later brought a claim.
He also had never tried & been denied the chance to book holiday. Despite this, he will receive backdated pay for 13 YEARS of holiday! This is quite surprising as under the regulations introduced in 2014 (Deduction from Wages (Limitation) Regulations 2014) a limit of two years claim was introduced for back-dated pay. However in his particular case the ECJ has ruled that the entitlement to the holiday pay in lieu arises all at once at the effective date of termination so the two year limit will not apply.
Add to this mix the fact that the tribunal fees have recently been abolished leaving little barrier to anyone bringing a claim and this is a situation that some businesses really need to start taking seriously.
If you think this may affect you contact us today.
