holiday entitlements

Statutory annual holiday entitlement, under the Working Time Regulations (WTR), have changed from the 1st October 2007 when annual holiday entitlement increased to 24 days.  A further 4 days will be added from 1st April 2009 giving a total of 28 days paid holiday entitlement for every UK employee, pro-rata for part-time workers. 

The increase is the result of a Government consultation which was issued in June 2006, then a further consultation was issued in January 2007. 

What are the main points?

All employees are permitted to carry over up to four days of the accrued annual holiday entitlement from one holiday year to the next.  All carried over days must be used in the following year.

Employers may pay employees in lieu of unused holidays but only for up to four days holiday.   This is in place until 1st April 2009. 

What if I already give 28 days or more?

Employers who already give 28 days a year are excluded from the new rules provided they only make payments in lieu of unused holidays in excess of 28 days and allow employees to carry over the additional days (none of the original 20 day entitlement can be carried over).  All carried over days must be used in the following year.

Where employers already give the eight Public Holiday entitlements in addition to the current 20 days, employees will not be entitled to the extra four days in October or the extra four days in April 2009 as long as they have a total of the statutory minimum. 

What do employers have to do?

You must notify all employees in writing of the increase to their holiday entitlements.  This should be given at least one month prior to the changes in order to meet the Employment Rights Act 1996. 

How do I calculate holiday entitlements?

Although the implementation date is October 2007 and due to rise again in April 2009, some holiday years will have already started.  The increase must be taken in to account for the whole year.  This can be quite complex and difficult to calculate. 

SCRSolutions are happy to assist you in calulating holiday entitlement for your employees.  Simply email the details to admin@scrsolutions and request your calculation.*

Please give details of the employees start or leave dates and if if they are part-time or full-time.  Please also specify if you would like the calulation to be based on the number of days worked per week or the number of hours worked per week.

* Maximum of 10 calulations per company.  No charge will be made for this service.

This article has been provided by Simple Corporate Resource Solutions.  For more information, please contact us on 07899 933 089 or click here to send an email.