Employer guidelines to the Working Time Regulations (cont'd from Factsheet 10)

PAID ANNUAL LEAVE

• All employees have a statutory minimum entitlement to 5.6 weeks paid annual leave per year (pro rata for part time) which includes public and Bank Holidays.
• Holiday entitlement accrues from the first working day. Generally speaking, an employee accrues approximately two days (pro rata) holiday entitlement per month. Holiday leave should always be booked in advance and mutually agreed.
• It is important that you decide when the annual leave year starts and finishes. Many employers choose the financial year (April to March).
• If a worker starts partway through a leave year, their leave entitlement for the remainder of that first year is calculated as a proportion.
• There is no right to leave which is not taken by the end of a leave year, although this could be left to the discretion of the employer.
• One weeks leave is equivalent to the time that a worker normally works in a week. Therefore, a worker who works 20 hours each week, would receive the equivalent of 20 hours leave for every one weeks holiday due. So, as the current statutory minimum entitlement to annual leave is 5.6 weeks per year, someone who works 20 hours each week would be entitled to 20 hours x 5.6 (= 112 ) hours per year holiday entitlement.
• Employer and employee should mutually inform each other when leave is and is not to be taken. Ideally, a shared notice period is required of at least twice the period of the leave to be taken, unless mutually agreed otherwise.

Public & Bank Holidays

There is no legal entitlement for an employee to take bank and public holidays as annual leave. As an employer you may choose to pay your workers for these if specified in your contract agreement. It is at your discretion whether payment is made for these holidays, and whether they also count towards increasing the number of days taken as ‘annual leave'.

It is strongly recommended that all terms and conditions relating to an employees work are established and agreed at the commencement of employment, and through issuing a written contract of employment.

If you feel that you may wish to pay a higher rate to an employee for working on a Bank or public holiday, or if you wish to offer an annual leave entitlement higher that the statutory minimum, then you must discuss and agree this with Social Services before you agree anything with your employee.

Version 4.0

Version Date: November 2009

© The Rowan Organisation - Supporting Independence Through Choice