STATUTORY HOLIDAY ENTITLEMENT –  NEW RULES

On 1st April 2009 the statutory holiday entitlement will increase from 4.6 weeks (24 days if you work a five day week) to 5.6 weeks (28 days if you work a five-day week).

If you currently give bank holidays (i.e. someone is paid for a bank holiday and has the day off) this CAN count towards the total holiday entitlement. Therefore if you already give employees 4 weeks (20 days) plus 8 bank holidays then you already provide enough holiday and you do NOT have to take any action.

Do I have to give staff bank holidays?
The new law does NOT provide for employees to be given bank holidays. What the legislation does is provide for an increase in the total number of weeks/days given to employees. Provided you give the required number of days/weeks these do NOT have to fall on bank holidays, but your contract should be clear on this.

CALCULATING NEW HOLIDAY ENTITLEMENT

There are various ways to calculate the new holiday entitlement depending on the way people work.

Set out below are some examples of how to calculate holidays for 5.6 weeks (28 days if you work a five day week) i.e. from April 2009.

What does 5.6 weeks mean?
The regulations express the holiday entitlement as weeks i.e. 5.6 weeks is 5.6 times your usual working week. If you work a five day week, then 5.6 weeks is 28 working days; if you work 4 days a week, then 5.6 weeks is  4 days x 5.6 weeks = 22.4 working days, and so on.

Calculating the holiday entitlement for someone working a regular five day week
For someone working a five day week, 5.6 weeks holiday will simply be 5 days per week x 5.6 = 28 days.

This means that out of the 52 weeks in the year an employee is entitled to take 5.6 weeks off, so will work 46.4 weeks (52 weeks less the 5.6 weeks holiday).  The holiday entitlement of 5.6 weeks is therefore 12% of the employees total working year (honest!).

Calculating the holiday entitlement for someone working regular shifts
It will probably be easier to calculate the holiday entitlement as shifts. So if a worker works four twelve-hour shifts, followed by four days off (the ‘continental’ shift pattern), then the average working week is 3½ twelve-hour shifts. So 5.6 weeks’ holiday is 5.6 x 3½ = 19.6 twelve-hour shifts.

Calculating the additional entitlement for someone working term-time only or part of the year.
You need to calculate the total hours per year. So if a worker works 40 hours a week for 39 weeks of the year, they work a total of 1,560 hours a year, or 30 hours a week. The holiday entitlement is 5.6 weeks x 30 hours a week = 168 hours holiday for the year. 

Here’s the tricky bit - the 168 hours needs to be taken as holiday as part of the 1560 hours. i.e. the 1560 – 168 = 1392. So they actually work 1392 hours and take 168 hours holiday = 1560 in total (if you take 1392 and add 12% you come back to 1560).

If they work the full 1560 and take holiday at other times, they accrue or earn holiday on the whole 1560 hours. This is then 1560 + 12% = 1747.2 hours (187.2 hours holiday for the year).

Confused… join the club!

Calculating the holiday entitlement for someone working casually or working very irregular hours
It may well be easiest to calculate the holiday entitlement that accrues as a percentage and then convert to hours and pay. For example someone who works 10 hours will be entitled to 12% holiday’s.  Therefore, 12% of 10 hours  = 1.20 hours (or 72 minutes).

Calculating the holiday entitlement for existing staff for the current holiday year if the year runs 1st January to 31st December
For existing employees who currently get 4.6 weeks, the new entitlement up to 31st December will be (38.7 weeks ÷ 52 weeks) x 0.8 weeks = 0.6 weeks. Therefore, for someone working a five day week this will be an extra 3 days holiday (0.6 x 5 days per week = 3 days).

Calculating the holiday entitlement for someone who starts working mid way through a leave year
If an employee started working after 1 April 2009 their holiday entitlement for the first leave year would be calculated by multiplying the proportion of a full year that they worked by 5.6 weeks. For example, if a worker joined a company with 32 weeks left in the leave year, their holiday entitlement would be (32 ÷ 52) x 5.6 weeks = 3.5 weeks.

If they started working before 1 April 2009, their holiday entitlement for the first year would be the proportion of a full year that they worked, times 4.6 weeks, plus the proportion of a full year that they worked after 1 April 2009 multiplied by 0.8 weeks. For example, a worker starts work on 3 March 2009, and their leave year ends on 31 December. Their holiday entitlement is (43 weeks ÷ 52) x 4.6 weeks = 4 weeks, plus (38.7 weeks ÷ 52 weeks) x 0.8 weeks = 0.6 weeks, giving a total holiday entitlement of 4.6 weeks.

Calculating the holiday entitlement for someone who leaves an employer mid way through a leave year
If an employee left the employer after 1 April 2009, their holiday entitlement on leaving would be the proportion of a full leave year that they worked, multiplied by 4.6 weeks, plus the proportion of a full leave year they worked after 1 April 2009, multiplied by 0.8 weeks. For example, a worker leaves an employer on 28 September 2009, and their leave year runs from 1 January to 31 December. Their holiday entitlement is 4.6 weeks x 38.7 weeks [the number of weeks from 1 January to 28 September] ÷ 52 =  weeks, plus 0.8 weeks times 25.8 weeks [the number of weeks from 1 April to 28 September] ÷ 52 weeks = 0.4 weeks, giving a total holiday entitlement of 4.4 weeks.

Any holiday they had already taken in the final leave year would then be subtracted from this total entitlement.

OTHER QUESTIONS

Additional holiday entitlement extended to agency workers
All workers covered by the Working Time Regulations are entitled to the increase in holiday entitlement. This includes agency workers and casual workers.

Additional holiday entitlement includes time off for bank holidays
Time off for bank holidays can be counted as part of a worker’s annual holiday entitlement.

Part-time staff who don’t work on days on which bank holidays fall
The increase should be pro-rated for those working part time (regardless of what days they work).  So if a member of staff works four days a week in a leave year beginning on or after 1 April 2009, they will be entitled to 22.4 days (4 x 5.6). If they work three days a week they will be entitled to 16.8 days (3 x 5.6).  Part-time workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks’ holiday, based on the hours a week that they work, regardless of whether they work on days on which bank holidays fall.

And it’s as simple as that!

But if you have any queries – or if you would like us to assist with any calculations, please give us a ring.