A FORMER shop assistant has been awarded £176 from her former employer following a dispute over holiday pay.

Kasia Podlasiak turned to Oxford Citizens’ Advice Bureau after she received just £1 in lieu of untaken holidays when she resigned from her job at Edinburgh Woollen Mill in Oxford city centre, despite having £176 worth of holiday left to take.

The shop had a term in its contracts of employment allowing it to pay employees a token payment of £1 in lieu of untaken holiday.

Christi Scarborough, the CAB worker who represented Ms Podlasiak, argued that the European Working Time Directive, backed Ms Podlasiak’s case.

The tribunal found that, despite the contract term, Ms Podlasiak was entitled to receive what she would have received had she taken the three days’ holiday while still employed.

Ms Podlasiak, of Oxford , said: “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the Citizens Advice Bureau because I’m not very familiar with employment law and tribunal procedures. I only wish people weren’t afraid to stand up against their employers and fight for their rights.”

Christi Scarborough, advice session supervisor, Oxford CAB, said the outcome sent “a clear message to employers” that a decision not to pay full pay in lieu of holiday pay when employees leave could be “successfully challenged”.

Edinburgh Woollen Mill had not commented by the time the Oxford Mail went to press.