a friend of mine has recently come to the end of a temp contract, they didnt take the leave they accrued because they thought it would be sensible to take it to tide them over inbetween finding a new job, but the agency have said they can only take the leave when they are on an assignment or have officially left the agency.

this seems stupid as it means that if they get a new job through the agency they will have more holiday than they can feasibly take, a new company wouldnt be happy with someone taking days off all the time especially if its a short contract. if it forces people to leave the emplyment agency to get the money theyre entitled to its not good for the agency seems like its bad for everyone, the employee, the agency, the contractors.

So does anyone have any experience of this, is this standard for agencies or do they pay you in lieu for untaken leave? seems to me that would be the best for everyone as the agency arent losing you when they need you, the companies arent getting some who is taking days off, and the employees are getting the money when they need it