Charles Pigott reports on a Court of Appeal ruling widening the scope for back-dated holiday pay claims
- As a result of the latest ruling in the Pimlico Plumbers holiday pay dispute, back-dated claims from miscategorised workers will be considerably easier to bring.
- The decision also has implications for workers with historic claims for underpaid holiday.
Gary Smith’s claim for accrued holiday pay was finally upheld by the Court of Appeal in February 2022 (Smith v Pimlico Plumbers Ltd [2022] EWCA Civ 70, [2022] All ER (D) 11 (Feb)). The claim, valued at over £74,000, equates to four weeks’ holiday entitlement for each year of his engagement as a worker between August 2005 and May 2011.
Background
Mr Smith instituted proceedings in the employment tribunal in 2011, following the termination of his engagement with Pimlico Plumbers. He brought several claims, including for unpaid holiday entitlement, arguing that he was an employee, or alternatively a worker, and not a self-employed contractor as Pimlico Plumbers maintained.
At a preliminary hearing in
