Termination Of Employment

[Theland]

A person has two weeks holiday booked for a foreign holiday with family.
Five days before the holiday, the person is suspended with pay pending an inquiry for a misdemeanour.
After returning from holiday, and an internal inquiry, the person is dismissed.
On receiving their final wages, the person is surprised to see that the suspension with pay, stopped at the commencement of the holiday, and resumed after the holiday.
Surely an employer has no right to use holidays as a substitute for suspension with pay?
This refers to my daughter who is in dispute over her dismissal, but the fact that her final monies are down to the tune of two weeks pay, she is now unable to pay her rent, nor claim housing benefit for this period as she was employed at the time.
I think the suspension with pay should have covered the holiday period, and her holiday pay should have been included in her final wages.
Am I right in thinking this, and if so, what is the relevant law for reference?
Many thanks in advance of your much needed help and advice.

[DJHawkes]

If the holiday year starts in april, and she has had some holiday already, then maybe she is not entitled to another paid 2 weeks if she's not working there, you only get 5 weeks holiday if you work there for the full 12 months of the holiday year.

[woofgang]

In the NHS, it used to be that if you were suspended on pay pending disciplinary process, you had to be available for that disciplinary process.

[Theland]

The employer knew that the holiday was booked and could not be cancelled, and presumably used this time conduct their own enquiries. I just want to be sure that the employer is not exceeding his rights.

[themas]

Phone the ACAS helpline. It seems likely that she has been underpaid wages. If ACAS agree, she could go to an Employment Tribunal to claim them but I think she now has to pay a fee to do so & it may not be worthwhile.

[woofgang]

before you pay any fees, she is entitled to see the company policy on leave while on suspension with pay. Its worth checking on what the policy is.

[woofgang]

and yes, make sure that she had worked enough to be entitled to the holiday. Again in the NHS, if you leave before the end of the leave year and have taken more leave than you have earned, then the unearned leave is deducted from your final salary payment.

[Theland]

Many thanks for all of your very helpful answers.

[Peter Pedant]

Woofie: In the NHS, it used to be that if you were suspended on pay pending disciplinary process, you had to be available for that disciplinary process.

.... or they could hold the internal tribunal hearing you.

Imagine my surprise when the main witness against the accused employee went into hospital himself- and the employer re-routed the hearing. Hold itm we said......
Oh we can do that they said.....

I am confused: the pay stopped for two weeks with theland's daughter and so she is now two weeks short...

striked me first that she should ask for the co policy on holiday and suspension first

If an employer suspends with pay - I dont see that he has a right to stop pay for two weeks under any reason UNLESS it is in the contract....

I think also ACAS is a good idea

[factor-fiction]

Hi PP- I didn't read it that her pay was stopped for the 2 week holiday. I read it that they were taken as paid holidays and Theland is asking whether she should have been been paid as a suspended employee and allowed to carry the holidays forward, so should she have received 2 weeks' holiday pay in addition to her normal wages due on leaving.

I may have misunderstood though as it's not clear from the post ythough because of the sentence "her final monies are down to the tune of two weeks pay". I still think this means "outstanding holiday pay for 'unused' holidays, but it is ambiguous.

If she still took her holiday she wasn't available to attend any hearings in that time, so if she did have to take the 2 weeks as holidays rather than on paid suspension intuitively it seems she is no worse off than she would have been if she hadn't been suspended. So I don't think the employer seems to have done anything wrong. However I know that the law can often throw up surprises and maybe the parallel here is sickness when someone who is sick on holiday can get the holiday pay converted to sick pay and thereby save the holidays to a later date.