I work a lot of overtime. Should my holiday pay reflect this overtime?

Yes. Following a series of important legal cases brought by unions, it is now established that holiday pay must be your 'normal' wages. This means it must include all the pay components you would normally have earned had you not been on holiday.  

This includes, for example, all regular overtime, travel time payments, shift or weekend premium payments, contractual commission and anti-social hours payments.  It is unlawful for your employer to pay you holiday pay based on basic pay only, excluding these additional regular payments. Speak to your union if you are concerned about how holiday pay is calculated where you work.  

These rulings only apply to the four weeks of holiday given to workers by the European Working Time Directive, but a good employer is likely to apply a uniform policy of calculating holiday pay across your full holiday entitlement.  

These important rulings about how your holiday pay must be calculated are at risk as a result of the UK’s planned exit from the EU.   

This makes it all the more important to join a trade union. The more workers a union has in membership, the stronger the union’s voice will be if, in future, your holiday rights come under attack. Browse our Union Finder tool to find the most appropriate union for you.