Leave | Holiday Leave
Overview
All workers classed as workers are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday a year (known as statutory leave entitlement or annual leave).
Includes: agency workers, irregular hours workers and zero-hours contracts
An employer can include bank holidays as part of statutory annual leave. It is at the liberty of the company to offer more leave than the legal minimum. They do not have to apply all the rules that apply to statutory leave to the extra leave. For example, a worker might need to be employed for a certain amount of time before they become entitled to it. The leave year and holiday entitlement is not affected by maternity, paternity or adoption leave. The employee still builds up (‘accrues’) holiday over these periods.
Edition
This feature is available on all PaySpace editions
Details
Entitlement / Accrual
Full Time (5day or more worker)
5.6 Weeks per Year (minimum)
At least 28 days paid annual leave a year (5.6weeks*5days)
Part-time (3 day worker example)
5.6 Weeks per Year (minimum)
At least 16.8 days paid annual leave a year (5.6weeks*3days)
Irregular hours / Zero-Hours Contracts
5.6 Weeks per Year (minimum)
Employees working irregular hours (like shift workers or term-time workers) are entitled to paid time off for every hour they work
Note!
Statutory paid holiday entitlement is limited to 28 days. For example, staff working 6 days a week are only entitled to 28 days’ paid holiday.
Leave Year / Cycle
When a worker starts a job, the timing of their leave year may be specified in a relevant agreement (Contract / Collective). If the worker’s leave year is not specified in an agreement, then it simply starts on the first day of employment.
Prorata steps for mid year staters:
1. Workout entitlement
2. Workout remaining periods
3. Apply prorata:
Example: 28 days x 7/12
Carry Forward Leave
A worker's contract defines how many days leave they can carry over into the next year.
If a worker gets 28 days’ leave, they can carry over a maximum of 8 days. More (Maximum of 20 days) can be carried over if employee was on Sick, Maternity or Parental Leave. An employer must allow a worker to carry over a maximum of 20 of their 28 days’ leave entitlement if the worker could not take annual leave because they were off sick.
Holiday Pay
Workers are entitled to a week’s pay for each week of statutory leave that they take.
A week’s pay is worked out according to the kind of hours someone works and how they’re paid for the hours. This includes full-time, part-time, term-time and casual workers:
1. Fixed hours and fixed pay (full- or part-time)
= A worker’s pay for a week
2. Shift work with fixed hours (full- or part-time)
= The average number of weekly fixed hours a worker has worked in the previous 52 weeks, at their average hourly rate
3. No fixed hours (casual work, including zero-hours contracts)
= A worker’s average pay from the previous 52 weeks (only counting weeks in which they were paid)
A worker’s pay for a week
To work out a week’s pay for someone who’s paid monthly:
1. Average Hourly = Previous Period Pay / Hours Worked
2. Weekly Pay = Average Hourly * Hours Per Week
The only time someone can get paid in place of taking statutory leave (known as ‘payment in lieu’) is when they leave their job. Employers must pay for untaken statutory leave, even if the worker is dismissed for gross misconduct.
A worker’s average pay from the previous 52 weeks (only counting weeks in which they were paid). If no pay was paid in any week, count back another week so the rate is based on 52 weeks in which pay was paid. You can count back a maximum of 104 weeks to find these. If a worker has less than 52 weeks of pay, use the average pay rate for the full weeks they have worked.
Note!
- The general notice period for taking leave is at least twice as long as the amount of leave a worker wants to take, plus 1 day. For example, a worker would give 3 days’ notice for 1 day’s leave.
- If an employer offers more than 5.6 weeks’ annual leave, they can agree separate arrangements for the extra leave.
- Bank or public holidays do not have to be given as paid leave.
- An employer can choose to include bank holidays as part of a worker’s statutory annual leave.
- An employer can choose to offer more leave than the legal minimum. They do not have to apply all the rules that apply to statutory leave to the extra leave.
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