Firms face big Xmas holiday pay-out

by John d'Arcy



Many construction employers are facing huge increases in their Christmas holiday pay bills as the new Working Time Regulations start to bite.

Employers in the electrical contracting industry, however, are mounting a campaign to persuade the Government to amend the two-month-old regulations. The move comes amid speculation that they are looking for a legal challenge to the provisions relating to holiday pay.

Construction union Ucatt said this week the regulations mean that up to 200,000 building and civil engineering workers can expect as much as an extra £150 holiday pay over the Christmas period.

Some contractors contend that the regulations were rushed through Parliament and do not accurately reflect the intentions of the original European Directive on which they are based. They say this allowed for holiday pay to be decided through legislation or agreed industrial practice.

In the latter case, existing, long-standing construction holidays-with-pay schemes could continue to be negotiated within individual sectors of the industry and provide standard, national rates. As it is, the new regulations call for all holiday pay to be based on each employee's "normal" weekly pay.

But employers point to difficulties in calculating normal pay in construction. They also argue that the regulations threaten to undermine existing holiday credit schemes and the range of additional benefits that they include.

A senior employer said: "The legislation is very poorly drafted and parts of the accompanying guidance notes are quite simply wrong."

A spokesman for the Electrical Contractors Association said that any legal challenge to the regulations would be up to individual firms.

Union leaders remain divided on the holiday pay issue. Some accept that benefit schemes are at risk. Others say they will lose no sleep over employers' problems with holiday pay bills.

George Brumwell, general secretary of Ucatt, said agreement had been reached with the building and civil engineering employers of the Construction Confederation that operatives would now receive a 'top up' payment on 8 out of the 10 days' holiday over the coming Christmas and New Year period.

A building worker earning an average of £300 per week and covered by the benefits scheme could expect an extra £150 in his Christmas holiday pay packet.

However, Brumwell warned: "There are still far too many employers attempting to deny workers their right to paid holidays."