Know your statutory rights as an employee and discover the latest statutory leave entitlements for 2023 so you can plan your next holiday!
What Is The Minimum Statutory Holiday Entitlement For Full-Time Employees?
What constitutes full-time employees, as per UK law, are those who usually work 35 hours or more per week. These employees are entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks of paid statutory holiday entitlement, commonly known as annual leave.
This paid annual leave is equivalent to 28 days based on full-time employees working an average five-day week. It ensures they have sufficient time off for rest, relaxation, and personal commitments.
Statutory Leave Entitlements
Apart from regular employees, there are various types of workers in the UK who have specific statutory rights when it comes to bank holidays, paid leave, and holiday pay. These include:
Contractual holiday entitlement
It is not uncommon for companies to provide additional paid holidays over and above an employee’s normal holiday entitlement. These entitlements are done at the employer’s discretion and would be found in any employment contract.
Bank holidays
Bank holidays, or public holidays, are another type of statutory leave entitlement which provide employees with additional time off, over and above their paid holiday period. Bank holidays are designated by the government and are typically followed nationwide, varying between countries within the UK.
Employers are required to pay employees for these bank holidays; and if a bank holiday falls on a Sunday, it usually carries over to the next working day (i.e. Monday).
Time off in lieu (TOIL)
Time off in lieu, commonly known as TOIL is where an employee is given extra time off work rather than receiving payment for accrued overtime.
Agency workers
Agency workers have the right to receive paid time off during statutory holidays, as well as bank holidays, as per The Agency Workers Regulations of 2010. These calculations are based on the employee’s employment contract and the number of hours worked.
Note: Agency workers are entitled to statutory leave only after completing a qualifying period of 12 weeks in a specific job.
Zero-hour contract workers
Zero-hour contract workers’ statutory annual leave entitlement is the same as other employees’. Their full holiday entitlement is calculated based on the number of hours they have worked within the company.
Part-time workers
Part-time workers are entitled to holiday pay, annual leave, and paid bank holidays. They have the same statutory right as full-time employees; calculated based on the number of hours they have worked and what is stipulated in their employment contracts.
How Do You Calculate Holiday Entitlement For The UK?
Full-time workers
The calculation of holiday entitlement for full-time employees is based on the statutory minimum holiday entitlement of 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave. This means that full-time employees working more than 35 hours per week are entitled to 28 days of paid leave per year.
Calculating holiday entitlement can sometimes be complex but taking these key elements into consideration can be helpful;
- Basic salary – the employee’s standard rate of pay.
- Overtime – if employees regularly work overtime, this needs to be included in annual holiday allowance payments.
- Commission and bonuses – if an employee earns commissions, these need to be factored into the annual leave payments.
- Shift allowances and premiums – if employees are entitled to paid premiums or shift allowances, these need to be included in annual leave calculations.
Part-time workers
Annual and bank holiday entitlement for part-time employees are a bit more complex.
If a part-time employee works three days per week; to calculate how much holiday pay they are entitled to we multiply the days worked per week (three) by the minimum statutory entitlement of 5.6 weeks:
3 days/week x 5.6 weeks = 16.8 days
In this case, the employee would be entitled to 16.8 days of paid annual leave per year, as per standard UK laws.
Final Thoughts
Understanding your statutory rights and holiday pay entitlements is crucial, for both employee and employer. This is to ensure standard compliance with labour laws is adhered to and helps maintain a work-life balance.
For more complex cases, we advise seeking help from a trained professional or hiring an accountant, as their in-depth knowledge of UK employment law can save you time and money in the long run.
References
https://www.gov.uk/search/all?keywords=Statutory+Holiday+Entitlements+2023&order=relevance
https://www.creative.onl/payrollindex/holiday-entitlement/
https://startups.co.uk/people/employment-law/employment-law-holidays/