At last - Holidays Act to be reviewed

posted on 30th May 2018

The Government has announced that it will review the Holidays Act 2003 and make recommendations for change within the next 12 months. This will be welcome news for franchises who are battling with compliance issues under the scrutiny of a Labour Inspectorate which announced last year it would be specifically targeting the franchise sector. The current massively-complicated Act makes it hard to do the right thing no matter how hard employers try, as we pointed out last year.

It is important for employers to bear in mind that their legal obligations to ensure compliance with the Act will remain until new legislation is passed which the Government has indicated is likely to be a minimum of two years away.

Workplace Relations Minister Iain Lees-Galloway said the taskforce would look at ways to simplify the Holidays Act.

'There's been enormous change in our labour market over the past fifteen years and it's clear we need to look at the Holidays Act with a fresh pair of eyes and ensure it is fit for modern workplaces and new working arrangements,' Mr Lees-Galloway said.

The current law was proving 'difficult and costly' for employers to follow and workers were missing out on what they were owed, he said.

'The legislation needs to be straightforward and simple to implement, and deliver fair rest and entitlements for workers,' Mr Lees-Galloway said.

Download the Cabinet paper on the review here.