Employee Awarded Nearly £500,000 After Accumulating 827 Unpaid Holiday Days Over 25 Years

The Employment Tribunal has awarded an employee nearly half a million pounds after he accumulated 827 unpaid holiday days over his 37-year employment.

Mossadek Ageli worked for the Libyan-owned property management firm Sabtina Limited, initially as deputy managing director before becoming commercial manager, operating from offices in London and Milton Keynes. He joined the company in 1987, at which time his annual leave entitlement was 30 days per year, increasing to 45 days in 1996.

Between 1987 and 1989, Mr Ageli took no holiday whatsoever as he and his personal assistant were the only full-time staff, whose presence was essential to ensure the company could function day to day. Recognising the ongoing difficulty in taking his annual leave, Mr Ageli and the company agreed that he would be paid for any holiday he was unable to take each year. It was agreed that he could also roll holiday over indefinitely. In both 2001 and 2004, he received payments of approximately £15,000 in lieu of holiday, something the judge found was proof that this agreement was in place.

This arrangement remained in place for decades until May 2022, when the board of directors was replaced. The new directors slowly removed Mr Ageli’s duties until, in March 2024, Mr Ageli received an email informing him that he was being dismissed for gross misconduct with immediate effect. No reasons were given. The Tribunal noted that this decision “came completely out of the blue.” Mr Ageli was not given a right of appeal and was dismissed after 37 years of loyal service.

The Tribunal’s findings

The Tribunal found that it had been agreed between Mr Ageli and Sabtina that any unused holiday would be recorded and any unused entitlement would roll forward each year, with payment to be made as and when needed, or otherwise at the end of his employment.

Regarding the dismissal, Judge Alliott found that Sabtina “did not have a genuine belief” that Mr Ageli had committed an act of gross misconduct, didn’t conduct a reasonable investigation and didn’t have reasonable grounds to conclude that such misconduct had occurred.

The dismissal was found to be “clearly procedurally unfair”, as Mr Ageli wasn’t notified of the charges against him, wasn’t shown the evidence, wasn’t given an opportunity to represent himself at a disciplinary hearing and wasn’t afforded the right of appeal.

The award

The Tribunal ordered Sabtina to pay compensation for unfair dismissal of £91,489.73, a basic award of £14,070 and the full accrued holiday entitlement of £391,942.77 — a total exceeding £497,000.