WISH YOU WEREN'T HERE...?

Ah, summer. The sun is shining (for now at least), the birds are singing (at four o’clock in the morning when you are trying to get some sleep), hay fever sufferers are sneezing and everyone is going about their daily lives with a spring in their step and a song on their lips. Or is that only at Cobbetts?

Many of us will spend the first part of summer dreaming about the exotic destinations we are planning to visit during our holidays. Even more of us will spend the second part of summer dreaming about the exotic destinations we have just returned from. Those of us who cannot afford to holiday in exotic places will just keep dreaming. Summer holidays can be more of a nightmare for employers, however, with employees squabbling about their preferred dates and then complaining when their holiday requests are turned down.

So, to help you understand your rights and obligations as an employer, this edition of Employment Matters summarises some of the holiday-related questions frequently asked by our clients.

Q1. One of our new employees, John, has asked me what holidays he will be entitled to on joining. I’m fairly new to the role of HR Manager so am not sure what the answer is. Is there a minimum entitlement?

Yes – the Working Time Regulations 1998 introduced a minimum entitlement of four weeks’ paid annual leave for all workers (subject to certain excluded classes of workers). This entitlement is applied on a pro rata basis for part-time workers. So, someone who works a five-day week will be entitled to at least 20 days’ paid holiday, whilst a colleague who works two days a week will be entitled to a minimum of 8 days’ leave each year. However, many employees have contracts which entitle them to more than the minimum entitlement under the Regulations.

Q2. Andy, a bit of a know-it-all but a good worker, claims that we are breaking the law by not giving him and his colleagues bank holidays on top of their four weeks holiday. Is he correct about this?

At present, there is no statutory right to be given public holidays on top of the minimum entitlement under the Regulations. Interestingly, however, the answer to this question may change in the future as the DTI has recently begun consultation on the merits of increasing employees’ minimum holiday entitlement by providing for the eight permanent public holidays to be an entitlement in addition to the four weeks under the Regulations.

If you wish to look at the consultation paper or even to contribute to the consultation process, it can be found at: http://www.dti.gov.uk/consultations/page30026.html

We will, of course, keep you updated as to any changes that may arise following the consultation process.