Unpaid Holiday.

LegacyUser

Quick one for ye.

My mother took maternity leave in 2007. Before taking leave she had holiday pay owed to her. On returning to work she didn't receive it. She approached the Citizens Advice and they told her she was entitled to the holiday pay she built up before her maternity leave. When she queried her employer she was told she is not entitled to the holiday pay she built up before she took maternity leave.

My sister has since told my mother she has 5 years before she loses holiday pay owed.

Any suggestions on next steps. Should she make a complaint with the likes of NERA or similar where it can be investigated or is there another route.

It's gotten to a stage where my mother is being treated terribly in work so I've guided her to start putting her foot down with regard to being asked to do jobs/tasks that have absolutely nothing to do with her job description and her employer makes private snide remarks like "You need us more than we need you." I want her to have everything she is entitled to. I firmly don't believe in this "you're lucky to have a job" attitude. Nobody is lucky to work in such environments! If it wasn't for bills and my younger siblings, she'd walk away.

I refuse to see my mother as upset as she has been with her disgraceful employer and treated the way she has been and the stories she tells us when she gets home from work, so any help is very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

qwerty13

Unfortunately it is a question of balance. Of course you are correct in your view not to believe that everyone should consider themselves lucky to have a job, regardless of how they are treated.

However, it is clear from your post that the employer is very much of the view that your Mother is replaceable - and also that your Mother does need her job.

I'd tread carefully with this one OP; I'm presuming that you want your Mother to keep her job, so I'd ease off on the guiding her to put her foot down, and err more on the side of caution with regard to what she says/how she says it. It is possible to be reasonably firm without throwing a strop (not saying that is what your Mother is doing, but your post comes across a little in that manner). I can't comment on how she is treated in work, as there are no details of this in your post - but unless she has significant holidays that weren't paid, I'd think twice about following that one up officially. As I said, unfortunately it seems to me to be a question of balance.

RedXIV

To be honest, this has happened in 2007, if you haven't gotten it by now, chances are slim you are going to get it. I'd echo the above sentiments, while no-one should be told "you're lucky to have a job", realistically, if she needs the job, then perhaps 4 years of rocking the boat is enough

Killed

I'd echo that, employers only have to keep employment records for 3 years so even if NERA did go in they couldn't look that far back.

kennethsmyth

Six years.:D

Killed

3 years, see extract from the Working Time Act below.

Records.

25.—(1) An employer shall keep, at the premises or place where his or her employee works or, if the employee works at two or more premises or places, the premises or place from which the activities that the employee is employed to carry on are principally directed or controlled, such records, in such form, if any, as may be prescribed, as will show whether the provisions of this Act are being complied with in relation to the employee and those records shall be retained by the employer for at least 3 years from the date of their making.

(2) The Minister may by regulations exempt from the application of subsection (1) any specified class or classes of employer and regulations under this subsection may provide that any such exemption shall not have effect save to the extent that specified conditions are complied with.

(3) An employer who, without reasonable cause, fails to comply with subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence.

(4) Without prejudice to subsection (3), where an employer fails to keep records under subsection (1) in respect of his or her compliance with a particular provision of this Act in relation to an employee, the onus of proving, in proceedings before a rights commissioner or the Labour Court, that the said provision was complied with in relation to the employee shall lie on the employer.

kennethsmyth

While not the working time act, revenue dictate that six years of records are kept and these would be enough to prove days worked. Note statement of wages sheets.

From revenue

5. Inspection of employer's records
Officers of Revenue are empowered to inspect an employer's records from time to time in order to satisfy themselves that the correct amounts of tax are being deducted, or have been deducted, and paid over to Revenue. All documents and records relating to the calculation or payment of pay or the deduction of tax or calculation of PRSI contributions (wages sheets, tax deduction cards, etc) must be retained by the employer for six years after the end of the tax year to which they refer (or for such shorter period as Revenue may authorise by notice in writing to the employer) and must be available for inspection by an authorised Revenue officer.

While both revenue and the working act state different years i'd take it most companies would err on the side of caution and keep six years.