Labour agency Impact 2000, which employed the operative, unsuccessfully argued that he was not entitled to Christmas holiday pay because he had not completed the 13-week period of continuous employment stipulated in the directive.
The operative had worked for the agency since July 1998 but Impact 2000 claimed that, as the directive came into force on 1 October 1999, the 13-week period should commence from October and not July.
The agency argued that the operative had failed to complete 13 continuous weeks of employment because he had taken time off at Christmas.
However, the London (North) Employment Tribunal ruled that the directive did not state that someone who had been continuously employed before its introduction could not count that time towards the 13 weeks.
The operative, who asked for his name to be withheld, represented himself at the tribunal, and was awarded compensation for five days’ holiday amounting to £278.
A spokesman for electrical union AEEU welcomed the decision. “It’s good news for construction workers and hopefully sends a message to other agencies that failed to pay Christmas holiday pay last year.” Impact 2000 was unavailable for comment.
Construction union UCATT returned a £640 000 surplus on its activities during 1998, up from the previous year’s £618 000.
UCATT general secretary George Brumwell said the increase would fund an additional 10 recruitment officials, four of which will be based in central London.
Brumwell said: “Government legislation is helping us. There’s nowhere left for bad employers to hide. We’ve now got well over 115 000 members and are making real inroads into the private sector. Now we’ve got extra officials, contractors can look forward to regular visits from UCATT this summer.”
