How much holiday entitlement are Employees legally allowed?
At Setting up a Business we always strive to give the very best information, but did you know or realise that from their first day of employment, all employees begin accruing statutory holiday entitlement under the Working Time Regulations (WTR as it’s known). Every leave year they’re entitled to 5.6 weeks annual leave, or as it is known ‘statutory holiday’. For example if you have employees working 5 days a working week, this is 28 days each year that can also include public and also bank holidays. With those part time workers entitled to a pro-rata which is the equivalent. So if you have a worker that works Monday through Wednesday which is on a three day week, would of course receive3/5ths of a 5.6 weeks leave, or 17 days.
How much should we pay our staff when they take an annual Holiday?
All employees are entitles to a week’s pay for each week of leave. The way this is calculated will of course depend on the circumstances of the employee. Employees with normal working hours, usually means their basic salary without commission or bonuses, if that applies. However, if there pay changes from week to week due to the amount of work completed in their hours of work, the holiday pay will be based on an average pay during those previous 12 weeks. This would include any commission and similar payment which varies in amount. Overtime pay would only be included when the overtime is guaranteed regularly. Rolled-up pay for holidays is actually unlawful becuase a worker receives no pay while actually on holiday: their holiday pay being ‘rolled up’ into the pay they receive whilst working.
Are Public or Bank Holidays entitled as well?
There is not currently a statutory right to include bank or public holidays. If the contract of employment states the staff are entitled to ‘x amount of days holiday’ plus bank and public holidays then employees are entitled to them. If no written contract is in place, then the employee has no legal right to bank or public holidays being taken.
Holiday pay and Maternity Leave
Women on their maternity leave continue to accrue holidays during their leave, so if a lady takes her full 52 weeks maternity leave will accrue a full year’s holiday entitlement during her time with her baby.
I have unused Holiday pay, do I loose it?
Under the Working Time Regulations unused statutory holiday expires at the end of the holiday year, meaning a worker isn’t entitled to carry this holiday allowance over or be paid in lieu. Although their is some exceptions in the case of maternity and long term absence by sickness, However if you or the employer agree that the member of staff can carry over any unused holiday into the next year, a simple condition might be that it is taken within a certain timescale or set days.
On termination of any kind of employment, the employee is always entitled to be paid in lieu of any accrued but untaken holidays entitlement.
