THOUSANDS of workers who were illegally denied the statutory minimum wage stand to lose their holiday pay too, a union warned yesterday.

As reported in the Morning Star, the government’s Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) recently “named and shamed” 211 firms found to have failed to pay their staff the legal minimum wage.

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officials have the authority to force employers to pay the minimum wage, including back pay owed to workers who have been denied it.

But the HMRC officials have no authority to make the rogue firms hand over lost holiday pay, GMB union highlighted.
The general union says the workers’ only recourse is to take their cases to an employment tribunal.

But this will become more difficult as the government has imposed charges of up to £1,200 for lodging a tribunal claim — often more than the holiday pay owed.

GMB national secretary Brian Strutton said: “Although this (holiday pay) could amount to hundreds of pounds per worker it would cost them more than that to pursue their entitlement at an employment tribunal so they are caught in a trap.

“They are owed holiday pay arrears, the government enforcement agency doesn’t have the authority to help them and their access to justice is denied by the prohibitive cost of doing so.

“This unfair loophole would be closed with Labour’s plan to do away with tribunal fees.”

Labour has pledged to abolish the employment tribunal fees if elected. Fees have seen claims for unfair dismissal drop by two-thirds since their introduction in 2013 by the Con-Dems.