Greater Manchester Pay and Employment Rights Advice Service Factsheet

Regulations about the right to paid holidays were introduced in 1998. They apply to almost all workers, including part-time workers, homeworkers, agency workers and those classed as workers in the construction industry. There is a list of workers who are not covered at the end of this factsheet.

How to work out your holiday entitlement

Since 1^st April 2009 all workers have been entitled to 5.6 weeks` holiday per year. Your holiday entitlement depends on how many days you work per week;

5 days per week = 28 days per year;

4 days per week = 22.4 days per year;

3 days per week = 16.8 days per year;

2 days per week = 11.2 days per year and

1 day per week = 5.6 days per year.

Sometimes it may be easier to work your holiday entitlement out in hours, for example if you always work 25 hours per week but can vary how many days you work them over. The calculation for this scenario is 25 hours x 5.6 weeks = 140 hours per year. If you are not sure how to calculate your holiday entitlement please call us for help in working it out.

When you work out whether you get enough holidays already, you must count every holiday that you get, including bank and public holidays.

The “holiday year”

The holiday year should be stated in your written statement of terms and conditions of employment, which you should get within 2 months of starting work. It is very important to check what the holiday year is, because holidays must be taken in the same year. You do not have the right to carry them over into the next year unless your contract says you can.

If your terms and conditions do not state what the holiday year is, or if you do not have written terms and conditions, or if there is no holiday year established through custom and practice in the workplace, then the law says that your first holiday year either started on 1^st October 1998 if you were in your job then, or on the first day of your employment if you started after that.

In the first year of employment

Employers can insist that workers accrue holidays in advance before they can be taken in the first year of employment. The rules are that holiday entitlement accrues at the start of each month, so at the beginning of the first month of employment you are entitled to 1/12th of your annual holiday entitlement; at the start of your third month you are entitled to a quarter of your entitlement; at the start of your sixth month, half your entitlement and so on.

After the first year of employment

At the start of your second year of employment you become entitled to holidays straightaway; they do not have to accrue because the rules about accrual only apply in the first year of employment. Your employer cannot say, for example, that you cannot have a 2 week holiday until you have worked 6 months. Nor can s/he say that you must work a certain period after you have had one holiday before you can take another one.

General rules

• Statutory holiday entitlement is capped at 28 days per year, although your contract may give you more than the statutory entitlement;

• You do not have to take full weeks at a time; you can take separate days (although see the section below called Employer`s notice);

• Your employer cannot pay you extra instead of giving you the holidays that you are entitled to;

• Holiday entitlement continues through maternity leave, although the rule about taking holidays in the same year still applies; See our booklet 'Having a baby - your rights at work' for details about this.
  

• If your employment ends and you have not had all the holidays that you were entitled to then your employer must pay you the difference. For example if the holiday year starts in January and you leave at the end of June then you have worked half the holiday year and so you should have had half the holiday entitlement. If you have had less than this, then your employer must pay you the difference;

• If your employment finishes and you have had more holidays than you were entitled to, then your employer can ask you to repay them but only if there is an agreement which allows this for example a clause in the contract of employment or a separate agreement which you have signed, for example in a staff handbook which you have accepted;  Workers on sick leave continue to accrue their (statutory) holidays of 5.6 weeks per year, and for workers off sick long term, the rule about not carrying holidays into the next holiday year does not apply. This means that all holidays accrued during sick leave can be taken by a worker who returns to work, or paid on termination of employment, if the employment contract is ended.

Booking a holiday from work - giving notice

The regulations specify how much notice should be given before a holiday is taken. They also allow for these special rules to be modified by a workplace agreement.

Worker's notice

You must give your employer notice of your intention to take holidays; either according to any agreement that may exist or, if there is no agreement, by giving twice as much notice as the length of the holiday that you intend to take. For example, if you want to take two weeks’ holiday, you should request it at least 4 weeks beforehand.

Employer’s notice

Your employer can decide when you may or may not take holidays, but s/he has to give you notice equivalent to that number of days. For example, if s/he did not want you to have a holiday in the first three weeks in December, then s/he would have to tell you this at least three weeks before the start of that period.

How your holiday pay is worked out

A week’s holiday pay is your normal contractual weekly pay. Regular bonuses and allowances should be included, but not normally overtime. If you do not have regular hours in your contract, then you should be paid an average of the pay you have earned in the 12 weeks immediately before your holiday starts. If you are on piece rates, variable bonuses or commission, or if shift patterns mean that you are paid different shift premiums, then please contact us for help in working out what your holiday pay should be.

Enforcing your rights

Rights to holidays and holiday pay are statutory rights. If your employer refuses to give them to you, or if you feel that you`ve been victimised for asserting these rights you should first of all send your employer a grievance letter; see our factsheet on Grievances for guidance about doing this.

Disputes about holidays and holiday pay are dealt with by the Employment Tribunal. There is a strict 3 month deadline for making a complaint to Tribunal and you must act quickly otherwise you may be too late to do this.

If you are dismissed for asserting your holiday rights you may be able to claim that you have been unfairly dismissed. This right applies from the first day of your employment. See our factsheet Unfair Dismissal for more information if necessary.

Workers not covered by statutory holiday regulations

A few groups of workers are not covered by the regulations. These are; doctors in training, sea fishermen and women and other workers at sea. Members of the armed forces, the police force and other civil protection services may also be excluded in certain circumstances.

Getting help

Besides us, there are other organisations which can help you:

• If you are a member of a trade union then you should ask for their help. If you do not belong to one but would like to join, then contact North West TUC on 0151 236 5432.

• Law Centres and Citizen Advice Bureaux (CAB) can give you free advice and support and may be able to represent you at Tribunal. You should ring the Community Legal Services directory on 08456 081122 to find your nearest law centre or CAB.

• You can also get advice from the Community Legal Services helpline on 08453 454345.

• ACAS can provide you with basic information about your rights. Contact them on their helpline on 08457 47 47 47

This factsheet is intended as a general guide to the regulations and is not a complete statement of the law. You should take advice before taking any action.

If you need more information and/or advice, contact

Greater Manchester Pay and Employment Rights Advice Service

0161 839 3888 phone, 0181 839 3883) fax, or write to us at

4^th Floor, Swan Buildings, 20 Swan Street, Manchester M4 5JW

We provide telephone advice only and cannot see

people face to face

Or visit our website: www.gmemploymentrights.org.uk

Greater Manchester Pay and Employment Rights Advice Service is an independent advice agency funded by all local authorities in Greater Manchester under the AGMA grants scheme.

April 2011