Some bosses threaten to sack staff who ask for leave Thousands of workers are being refused their statutory entitlement to four weeks' paid holiday a year, according to Citizens Advice Bureaux. Evidence gathered from 300 CAB offices across England, Wales and Northern Ireland shows that some people work for years without a proper break.
Many employees face a stark choice between accepting illegal conditions or being sacked.
The National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux has called on the UK Government to set up a new employment rights enforcement body, with powers to investigate complaints and impose stiff penalties on law-breaking employers. Tougher enforcement measures are needed to make sure all workers receive the legal minimum, the association said. You Were Here, based on 1,000 cases seen at bureaux around the country, over the past 18 months. But Richard Dunstan of the CAB says this is a tiny fraction of the real number of workers affected. Cases brought to CABs included a woman who never had a paid holiday in the five years she worked at a Midlands hairdresser's.