Holiday Pay – Voluntary Overtime

Louise Walker
Legal Director
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The Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland has expressed the view that overtime which is entirely voluntary should be included in the calculation of statutory holiday pay providing that overtime constitutes ‘normal remuneration’.

Voluntary overtime in this sense includes overtime that the employer is not obliged to provide and which the employee is not obliged to accept.

Whilst the decision is not binding on courts and tribunals in England and Wales or in Scotland, the case may be considered as a persuasive authority in these jurisdictions and employers may wish to take this into consideration when deciding whether to implement any changes in relation to their calculations of holiday pay.

It is likely that there will be further decisions on this point in Scotland, England and Wales in the coming months and years.

Topics: Holiday Pay