Avoid Huge Out-Of-Hours Claims

An Appeal Court ruling on out-of-hours pay has triggered concerns that the holiday park industry could face substantial claims from employees. Traditionally, holiday parks have provided a 24 hour on-call service as part of their daily role but staff may have only been paid for part of that time. Employment Tribunals have, in the past ruled that employees should be paid at least the minimum wage for the time they are on-call even if they are sleeping. That decision has been recently reversed by the Appeal Court for cases involving the care sector but it may not apply to the holiday park industry who could be open to significant compensation claims. It is estimated it could cost park operators more than £20,000 a year per employee and claims for compensation could go back several years. Now, Hull-based SJP Law, who provide a specialist legal service to the caravan and holiday park industry, have launched a dedicated service to help and advise holiday park owners. Alistair Latham, Director of SJP Law, said: “The Appeal Court ruling applies to the care sector and therefore should be used with great care. Ignoring the law in this area may still have dire consequences for the holiday park industry.” He explained that most holiday parks employ wardens to carry out a range of day time duties and to be on-call during the night should an emergency arise and he urged operators to review their employment contracts and working methods to safeguard against any potential liability. Mr Latham said: “This is a serious situation for park operators and we have set up a dedicated service to help them to assess their risk and to provide them with revised employment documentation and adapt their working requirements where necessary. “If park operators believe that this may be an issue for their business they need to take action sooner rather than later so that steps can be taken to reduce any potential liability.”