What is the holiday entitlement for homeworkers?

Everyone at work is entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks' paid holiday a year.

The position is complicated for homeworkers who often do not have any set hours, or are paid on ‘piece-work’, or have hours that vary considerably over time. Weekly holiday pay should be the average weekly pay that you earned over the last 12 weeks. Any week during the last 12 in which no pay is received is replaced by the week before, until you have a total of 12 weeks on which to work out your average weekly pay.

Note that employers can quite lawfully count Bank Holidays towards your paid leave entitlement.

In the past, some employers have tried to get out of paying holiday pay by saying that your hourly pay rate already includes holiday pay and that they therefore do not have to pay you if you take a holiday. However, as a result of a decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union, this practice has been made unlawful, and homeworkers now have a legal right to be paid for those days when they take holiday.

If in doubt about your entitlement, seek further assistance from your union or from an advice agency such as your local Citizens Advice Bureau.