Voluntary overtime should be Included in calculation of statutory holiday pay

The recent case in the Employment Tribunal of Brettle v Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council held that that voluntary overtime should be included in the calculation of statutory holiday pay.

Previous cases have decided that in certain circumstances compulsory overtime ought to be included in holiday calculation but this recent case considered the specific question of voluntary overtime.

As the case was only heard at the Employment Tribunal level it is non-binding but does assist in predicting how higher courts might rule on this question in the future.

The employment tribunal endorsed legally non-binding comments made in the earlier Bear Scotland case that, in the absence of agreement to the contrary, the four weeks’ holiday under the Working Time Regulations 1998 should be deemed to have been taken before the additional 1.6 weeks imposed by UK law is taken.