JSA response to withholding holiday pay allegations

"We refute any suggestion of wrongdoing and, in fact, can show that we are proactive on behalf of our workers in ensuring they receive the holiday pay to which they are entitled. Our systems are highly robust in this regard.

Before a worker joins, they are informed that they can either accrue holiday pay to draw down as and when they take their entitlement to paid holiday, or have it paid each time they receive their pay within their rate, in advance.

Most people choose the latter option and the holiday pay they receive in advance is clearly detailed on each payslip.

Where the worker chooses to accrue, both the email communication with each payslip and the payslip itself include an up-to-date balance of paid holiday entitlement and a reminder that paid holiday must be taken in the holiday year to which it relates.

In most cases, payment in lieu of untaken holiday leave is not sanctioned by the legislation or by case law and, therefore, it is important that this is handled in the right way on a case-by-case basis in compliance with the relevant rules.

This is why our holiday pay policy is clearly stated in all of our relevant contract and policy documents and articulated as part of our onboarding process when a contractor joins us, in addition to the regular reminders outlined above.

We do everything we can to encourage workers to take their annual paid leave entitlement and to ensure they do so in the correct way, in line with regulations and policies in place.

We cannot comment on the individual circumstances of any worker. However, in accordance with our standard operating procedure, we proactively highlight holiday pay due and payments are made in line with these policies. We can also confirm that we acted within the FCSA code at all times, and we have been audited as such in relation to the rules that cover these areas every year since 2011."

Editor’s Note: Statement issued by Workwell on March 15th 2022, following allegations that as JSA Group, the umbrella company withheld (and kept) holiday pay of a contractor, totalling £2,865.