Quarterly News

All change... for the holiday express

You may be aware that statutory holiday entitlement for all employees whether full, part time, shift, agency or casual, has been enhanced from 1 April 2009.

The legal minimum under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (as amended) has increased from 4.8 weeks' paid leave each year to 5.6 weeks (capped at 28 days) for a full time worker. Any days off for public or bank holidays count towards a worker's statutory holiday entitlement as long as it is paid leave. Many workers already get contractual leave which is more than 28 days so if that already applies to your staff this aspect of the changes does not affect you.

The other key change is that it will no longer be possible to make payment in lieu of statutory holiday.

Holiday entitlement in excess of the statutory rules is governed by employment arrangements and could therefore be carried forward or paid depending on the terms of your employment contracts.

Some of the frequently asked questions published by Acas are covered below to assist you on these important changes.

Do I need to inform my employees about the increased holiday entitlement?

Yes. You need to inform your employees in writing of their increased holiday entitlement from 4.8 to 5.6 weeks per year. You do not have to issue a new contract of employment but could notify employees using pay slips.

How is a part time worker's holiday entitlement calculated?

Part time workers are entitled to the same holidays as full time workers, calculated on a pro rata basis. For example, an employee who works four days a week is entitled to 22.4 days' paid holiday - their normal working week multiplied by 5.6.

An employee only works during term time. How much extra leave will they get?

You need to work out how many hours the employee works on average over the whole year. For example, if the employee works 40 hours a week for 40 weeks of the year, they work a total of 1,600 hours a year. This works out at 34.48 hours a week over 46.4 weeks of the year (the 5.6 weeks of statutory holiday entitlement are excluded from the average working week calculations). The employee's holiday entitlement is 5.6 weeks x 34.48 hours a week = 193.09 hours holiday for the year.

How do you manage part days?

Holiday entitlements for some employees who work part time may be made up of part days - for example, 22.4 days for someone working four days a week. An employer can manage these part days by:

• taking the part day off a day's shift (an employee leaves early or comes in late)
• rounding the time up to the nearest full day (the time cannot be rounded down)
• paying the employee for the part day owed.
• carrying the part day forward to the next holiday year.

The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform provides relevant links to help you work out your holiday entitlement in addition to other useful guidance. It can be found at www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/employment/holidays/index.html However do contact us if you require any other assistance.

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