Holiday Entitlement Pro-Rata

SueC_2

I've been presented with two ways of working this out. I know which one I think is correct, but I'm being challenged on it, so am hoping someone can clarify.

Background Info
Full time employees work a 40 hour week (over five days Monday to Friday) and get 28 days holiday, including eight days to be taken on bank holidays.

One part time employee works a 32 hour week (over four days Monday to Thursday) and wants to know what her holiday entitlement is.

Method A
The four days she works is 80% of everyone else's five day week, so therefore she is entitled to 80% of the holiday entitlement = 22.4 days. Seven of these would fall on bank holidays (in 2013 that is, I appreciate this would be different each year), leaving her with 15.4 days to book as she wishes.

Method B
Full time employees are entitled to 28 days holiday, eight of which are taken on bank holidays, leaving them with 20 to book as they choose. The part-timer is therefore entitled to book 80% of 20 days = 16 days.

Thanks for your help all.

Funky_Bold_Ribena

She's entitled to 5.6 weeks so at 4 days a week it would be A. But you could round it up to B.

liney

She is entitled to Bank Holidays Pro Rata too, so Method A is corrent.

You can round that 0.4 day up to 0.5 if you are feeling generous, but you must not round it down.

zzzLazyDaisy

It is not B, because the statutory holidays of 5.6 weeks include bank holidays.

In other words, you have a set number of statutory holiday days. The employer is entitled to require you to use some of those statutory holiday days on designated days, which may include bank holidays (but may not, for example for employees who work the bank holidays). The remaining days are yours to book as you wish. Of course this could have a disproportionate effect on part-time employees whose normal working days fall on Mondays, as a greater proportion of their statutory holiday entitlement is set aside for bank holidays, but sometimes that's just the way it is.

This calculator may help to show how you have worked out the number of days' holiday owing to the part-timer

https://www.gov.uk/calculate-your-holiday-entitlement

and this link confirms that the employer can choose to include bank holidays as part of statutory holiday leave entitlement

https://www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights/entitlement


However there is an exception to the above, and that is where the employer gives additional days over and above statutory. For example, many contracts still say 'you are entitled to 20 days holiday PLUS bank holidays'. This will often work out at 28 days for a full-timer, but on the odd years where there is an extra bank holiday for some reason (eg royal wedding or jubilee) those employees would get annual holiday leave (not through statute but through their contract). Similarly, in Scotland Jan 1st is a bank holiday but not in England, so Scottish employees would get an extra day's holiday than their English colleagues. This is a throw back to a time when there was no legal entitlement to paid holidays but many employers gave 'x' weeks plus bank holidays.

So it is very important to check the wording of the part-timer's contract, and any company provisions for holidays in employee handbook/intranet etc, as if the 'plus bank holidays' wording is used, then option B may well be correct, simply by virtue of the terms and conditions of employment with that particular company.

SueC_2

Thanks all.

Three out of three supporting what I thought. Glad to know the only thing I've lost is confidence in my opinion, not my marbles!

getmore4less

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

It is not B, because the statutory holidays of 5.6 weeks include bank holidays.

In other words, you have a set number of statutory holiday days. The employer is entitled to require you to use some of those statutory holiday days on designated days, which may include bank holidays (but may not, for example for employees who work the bank holidays). The remaining days are yours to book as you wish. Of course this could have a disproportionate effect on part-time employees whose normal working days fall on Mondays, as a greater proportion of their statutory holiday entitlement is set aside for bank holidays, but sometimes that's just the way it is.

This calculator may help to show how you have worked out the number of days' holiday owing to the part-timer

https://www.gov.uk/calculate-your-holiday-entitlement

and this link confirms that the employer can choose to include bank holidays as part of statutory holiday leave entitlement

https://www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights/entitlement


However there is an exception to the above, and that is where the employer gives additional days over and above statutory. For example, many contracts still say 'you are entitled to 20 days holiday PLUS bank holidays'. This will often work out at 28 days for a full-timer, but on the odd years where there is an extra bank holiday for some reason (eg royal wedding or jubilee) those employees would get annual holiday leave (not through statute but through their contract). Similarly, in Scotland Jan 1st is a bank holiday but not in England, so Scottish employees would get an extra day's holiday than their English colleagues. This is a throw back to a time when there was no legal entitlement to paid holidays but many employers gave 'x' weeks plus bank holidays.
....

Or get completely messed up for holiday years April-March when easter falls outside the standard holiday year like it does this year coming year when there are only 7BH