The minimum holiday that an employer must give to employees increased on October 1, 2007, when the Working Time (Amendment) Regulations 2007 came into force; employees now get 24 days paid holiday per year. From April 1, 2009, this increases to 28 days per year.

Implementing the changes

The additional leave entitlement of four days can be replaced with a payment in lieu until April 1, 2009, but thereafter it cannot, except for in the circumstances of a termination of contract. However, employers can agree with employees that the additional leave entitlement may be carried forward into the next holiday year. There is no requirement to increase holiday entitlement where workers were already entitled to at least 28 days’ holiday prior to October 1, 2007.

The holiday year

An employer can specify the dates of its holiday year. If an employer does not, then an employee’s leave entitlement is calculated either from the date on which the employee started working for the employer, or for employees already employed on or before October 1998, from October 1.

Bank holidays

Depending on the nature of the work in question and any holiday rules that the employer might have put in place, an employee can be required to work on bank holidays.

Taking holiday

• Accumulating leave

In the first year of employment, employers can use an accrual system, whereby they total up how much leave an employee has built up during their first year of employment. This leave is then built up monthly in advance, at the rate of one twelfth of the annual entitlement.

• Applying for leave

Employees must give notice to their employers if they wish to take holiday. This notice must be twice as long as the period of leave requested. The employer can refuse permission by giving counter-notice at least as long as the leave requested.

• Restrictions on taking leave

Employers can, for example, elect to specify particular dates as days of closure when employees are expected to take annual leave; or they can determine the maximum amounts of leave that can be taken on any one occasion, and when the leave may be taken. Any such restrictions must either be expressly stated in the contract of employment; implied from custom and practice; or incorporated into individual contracts from a collective agreement between the employer and trade unions.

Holiday pay

• Normal working hours

If an employee’s salary does not vary with the amount of work done, then for each week of statutory leave entitlement, he is entitled to a week’s pay. Pay for non-contractual overtime is not included in this. If an employee’s pay does vary with the amount of work done, then the amount of a week’s pay is the pay for the normal weekly working hours, multiplied by the employee’s average hourly rate over the preceding 12 weeks. Overtime hours can be included in this, although pay for these hours should be adjusted to the normal rate. Any week in which no pay was due, for hours worked, should be replaced by the last previous week in which pay was received for hours worked.

• No normal working hours

In these cases, a week’s pay is the average pay received over the preceding 12 weeks.

Part-time employees

Part-time employees are entitled to the same holidays as full timers, on a pro-rata basis.

No one has a statutory entitlement to paid leave for public holidays. It depends on what is stated in the contract of employment.

Gareth Edwards is a solicitor in the employment department of Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP.