Claimant v Star Care UK Ltd
Outcome
Individual claims
Withdrawn by the claimant at a hearing on 10 June 2021.
Claimant accepted she had been paid her wages and that the national minimum wage is the hourly rate before deductions. She confirmed the only remaining claim was for holiday pay.
Claim for holiday pay 2010-2016 failed as out of time. Claim for holiday pay 2016-2020 succeeded. Tribunal found claimant was denied the right to take paid annual leave during the period she was classified as self-employed. Holiday pay should have been calculated on the flat rate for each call rather than actual minutes worked, reflecting her normal pay. Respondent had paid £7,474.35; tribunal ordered additional £8,844.34 to be paid.
Facts
Claimant worked as a domiciliary care assistant from 24 February 2010, initially as an employee paid via PAYE, then from October 2016 as a self-employed worker. She was paid for visits at a flat rate per call (e.g. £4.40 for 30 minutes, £8.80 for 1 hour) regardless of actual minutes worked. From 2016-2020 she took unpaid leave when unavailable for work but was not paid for annual leave entitlement. Respondent calculated holiday pay owed based on actual minutes worked rather than the flat rate per call. Claimant brought claims for unfair dismissal (withdrawn), unpaid wages, and holiday pay covering periods 2010-2016 and 2016-2020.
Decision
Tribunal found claims for holiday pay 2010-2016 were out of time, as there was a break in the employment relationship when claimant moved to self-employed status in October 2016. However, holiday pay claim for 2016-2020 succeeded. Tribunal held that holiday pay should have been calculated on the flat rate for each call (reflecting claimant's normal pay), not the actual minutes worked. Respondent had paid £7,474.35; tribunal ordered an additional £8,844.34 gross to be paid, giving credit for amounts already received.
Practical note
Where a worker is misclassified as self-employed and denied paid annual leave, the right to paid leave carries over until termination, and holiday pay must be calculated on 'normal pay' including regular payments such as flat-rate call fees, not just time actually worked.
Award breakdown
Legal authorities cited
Statutes
Case details
- Case number
- 3202091/2020
- Decision date
- 19 February 2025
- Hearing type
- full merits
- Hearing days
- 1
- Classification
- contested
Respondent
- Name
- Star Care UK Ltd
- Sector
- healthcare
- Represented
- Yes
- Rep type
- lay rep
Employment details
- Role
- care assistant
- Service
- 10 years
Claimant representation
- Represented
- Yes
- Rep type
- lay rep