The Court of Appeal has overturned the decision made by the Employment Appeal Tribunal last year which stated his claim for holiday pay was out of time.

Under tribunal rules, Gary Smith should have made his claim for missed pay within three months of each holiday period, dating back to 2005.

The Court of Appeal held that 'a worker can only lose this right if the employer can specifically and transparently show that they gave the worker the opportunity to take paid annual leave, encouraged the worker to take paid annual leave and informed the worker that the right would be lost at the end of the year’.

Rebecca Seeley Harris, chair, Employment Status Forum explained: ‘If the employer cannot evidence this, then the right does not lapse at the end of the year, it carries over and accumulates until termination of the contract. Upon termination, the worker is entitled to a payment in respect of all of the untaken leave.’

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