As your employer, your umbrella company has a legal and moral duty to safeguard your health and wellbeing, and this includes an obligation to ensure you’re able to take time off work. In this article, we’ll look at what that means in practice, given that you may have limited day-to-day contact with your umbrella company employer.
The freedom to decide when and how often you work is one of the things that attracts many people to contracting, and your umbrella company is unlikely to insist that you take time off. However, they can and should provide you with the tools and information you need to manage your holiday, as well as your wider health and wellbeing.
Statutory protections for umbrella company employees
As an umbrella company employee, you have all the same legal rights and protections a conventional employee would have. These include:
Statutory payments, including sick pay and maternity/paternity pay where appropriate
5.6 weeks’ paid holiday per year
There have been reports that some umbrella companies have failed to provide the right amount of holiday leave or holiday pay to their employees, or that either has been refused because it wasn’t taken in time. This is obviously a cause for great concern among compliant umbrella company employers who take their obligations seriously and care about their employees.
A recent Court of Appeal judgement in the case of Smith vs Pimlico Plumbers clarified the position on holiday pay, confirming your employer’s obligation to specifically and transparently give you the opportunity to take paid annual leave, encourage you to do so, and inform you if your entitlement to paid leave will expire.
Your paid holiday entitlement
As a UK employee, you’re entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks paid holiday per year. If you work full time, this amounts to 28 days. For part time workers, entitlement depends on how much you work. For example, if you work 3 days a week, your entitlement would be 16.8 days per year (3 X 5.6 = 16.8).
Depending on your umbrella company you may have a choice about whether your holiday pay accrues, or whether it’s paid to you in each payment. Your holiday pay is intended to cover time off and ideally you should use it for this purpose. If it’s paid to you as you go along rather than accruing, it’s important that make your own provision, to ensure you’re able to take time off work.
Protecting your general health and wellbeing
As a contractor you will need to take responsibility for managing your own health and wellbeing. Your umbrella company will often be unaware if you work too long without a break, just as they will be poorly placed to notice signs of workplace stress or other issues. It will therefore be up to you to care for yourself, and to ask for the help you need if necessary.
However, as your employer your umbrella company can and should provide you with the information and tools you need to look after yourself properly, head off any issues as they arise and access appropriate care when you need it.
If you’re employed by Orange Genie Umbrella
As an Orange Genie employee, you will already be aware that we’re serious about our responsibilities as your employer. We’re not content with doing the legal minimum, and we’re determined to be a positive force in our employees’ lives.
We’ve always encouraged our employees to claim their holiday pay when they take time off, as this is what it’s intended for and it’s the best way to manage it. However, you’re free to choose whether your holiday pay is accrued or paid to you in each payment.
This choice is made when you join us, and can be changed at any time. You can manage your accrued holiday pay using our online portal, or by contacting our team through the usual channels. Our leave year runs from April to April.
We also provide a host of tools designed to help you care for yourself and your family, including online health assessments, lifestyle tools and medical and support services which allow us to be there for you when you really need us.
If you’re not with us yet and have questions about this issue, or if we can help in any way, please contact our expert team on 01296 468 483 or email info@orangegenie.com