Research from the Trade Union Congress (TUC) reveals that 1 in 12 UK workers are not getting their legal Holiday leave entitlement.

Holiday leave entitlement

The analysis estimates that 2.2 million employees are not getting the minimum paid Holiday leave entitlement they are due. And over half of this number (1.2 million) are not getting any paid leave at all.

Workers are losing out on nearly £3bn worth of Holiday leave entitlement a year. 9.2% of female workers and 7.2% of male workers are losing out.

The sectors in which workers are most likely to lose out are agriculture (14.9%), mining and quarrying (14.7%) and accommodation and food (13.9%).

Which sectors are missing out on their Holiday Leave entitlement

The sectors with highest numbers of staff losing out are retail (348,000), education (342,000) and health and social care workers (291,000).

Working people are entitled to a statutory annual minimum of 28 days paid leave (pro rata and including public holidays).

The main reasons people are missing out are:

• Workers being set unrealistic workloads that do not allow time to take leave.
  
• Employers deliberately denying holiday requests and managing out people’s leave.
  
• Employers not keeping up to date with the law.
  
• Minimum holiday entitlements are a vital part of reducing overwork, says the TUC. People who work excessive hours are at risk of developing heart disease, stress, mental illness, strokes, and diabetes, which also impacts on co-workers, friends, and relatives.
  

The TUC wants HMRC to be granted new powers to clamp down on employers who deny staff their statutory Holiday leave entitlement. This would include the power to ensure that workers are fully compensated for missed holidays.

The government has recently consulted on enforcing holiday entitlements but has yet to announce any plans. The TUC says ministers must guarantee all UK workers can take the holidays that they are entitled to.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“We’re now in peak holiday season. But while many workers are away enjoying time off with friends and family, millions are missing out. And that puts them at risk of burnout.

“Employers have no excuse for robbing staff of their well-earned leave. UK workers put in billions of hours of unpaid overtime as it is.

“The government must toughen up enforcement to stop bosses cheating staff out of their leave.”

For more details go to https://www.tuc.org.uk/
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The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has voted unanimously to maintain the Bank of England Base Rate at 0.75%.

Bank of England Base Rate

 A lot of the MPC’s minutes concentrated on continued Brexit uncertainty, with the Committee stating that “entrenched Brexit uncertainties and slower global growth have led to the re-emergence of a margin of excess supply”.

The Committee also commented on that Brexit-related developments are making UK economic data more volatile, the GDP has fallen by 0.2% in Q2 and now expected to increase by 0.2% in Q3. The Committee judges that underlying growth has slowed, but is still slightly positive, and that a degree of excess supply appears to have opened up within companies.

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Life Insurance for tenants not considered by UK renters

A study by Sainsbury’s Bank has found tenants are significantly less likely to have Life insurance for tenants or critical illness cover than homeowners.

Life insurance for tenants

Only a quarter of renters (26 per cent) are likely to have Life insurance for tenants or critical illness policy in place compared to almost half of homeowners (41 per cent).

But despite being less likely to have life insurance or critical illness cover, 54 per cent of renters are more concerned than homeowners (48 per cent) about the financial implications should they pass away before old age. One in five (21 per cent) of renters living in private accommodation worry about this situation on a weekly basis compared to 16 per cent of homeowners.

Survey for Life insurance for tenants

According to the government’s English Housing Survey, in the past 10 years, the number of households renting privately with children has risen by almost 800,000 to nearly 1.6 million.

Renters should consider what their partner or family would do if they unexpectedly needed to cover housing costs such as rent and other monthly outgoings if one partner was to become seriously ill or pass away.

According to Sainsbury’s Bank, based on the average weekly household expenditure in the UK (£572.60) the average renting family should have £687,000 worth of life cover as a financial safety net.

The survey found the top reason renters do not have Life insurance for tenants is they believe they don’t have enough equity or money to have a life insurance policy (29 per cent), in comparison to homeowners (11 per cent). Nearly one in five of renters (18 per cent) haven’t got round to it yet and 14 per cent said they had no dependents.

According to Sainsbury’s Bank, major life events are the top reasons people decide to buy protection products. Buying a house is the main reason people chose to purchase life insurance (34 per cent), followed by having a child (17 per cent) and getting married (12 per cent). Unfortunate experiences, such as becoming ill (9 per cent) also prompt people to take out a policy.

Karen Hogg, head of insurance at Sainsbury’s Bank, said: “As more people are raising families in rented accommodation, we need to shift our thinking in terms of life and critical illness cover only being relevant for people with a mortgage. That’s just not the case. All people need to consider what protection their partner and children may need should anything happen to them, including how to cover rent, bills and household essentials.

“Our research found that people are more likely to worry about the financial implications of their passing rather than taking action to alleviate any concerns and protect themselves for the future. Taking out a life insurance policy can help give you peace of mind and ensures you have the financial protection in place.”

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