YOU may have heard a lot in the news over the last six months regarding the calculation of worker’s holiday pay.

This is because there have been a number of recent high profile court judgements on the topic.

The most recent is the judgment in Patterson v Castlereagh Borough Council, heard in the Northern Irish Court of Appeal.

This case looked at whether voluntary overtime, i.e. overtime which the employer is not obliged to provide and the employee is neither obliged to perform, should be included in holiday pay calculations.

It was held in the first instance that voluntary overtime should not be included.

However, the case was appealed and unhelpfully it has been decided that the question of whether voluntary overtime should be included in holiday pay must be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Unfortunately, the Court of Appeal did not provide guidelines as to the test which should apply and stated that it was a ‘question of fact’ for each tribunal to determine based on ‘the particular circumstances of each case’.

Decisions from the Northern Irish Court of Appeal are not legally binding in tribunals in England and Wales.

However, employers should still be wary of this case as it opens the door for arguments to be raised by employees that voluntary overtime should be factored into holiday pay calculations.

It is safe to say that this will not be the last case on this topic.

The Porter Dodson Employment law team is here to help you with any questions you may have.

Contact Laura Roper on 01823-625816 or laura.roper@porterdodson.co.uk