Annual leave for part-time staff - have I got it right?

poorlittlefish

Conversely, then, they should get paid less for the weeks they work fewer hours, but this doesn't happen as they are paid the same amount for each week, regardless.

Takeaway_Addict

poorlittlefish wrote: »

Conversely, then, they should get paid less for the weeks they work fewer hours, but this doesn't happen as they are paid the same amount for each week, regardless.

Even if they are salaried it really doesn't matter as long as they take their hours.

If they say on average do 20 hours a week at £7 an hour then it should mean they get £140 a week salary.

If their pattern allows them to work 30 hours one week and 10 hours another it means effectively the first week they are earning £4.66 an hour and the second week they are earning £14 an hour which evens itself out to their salary pay).

I really can't see where any party is gaining or losing.

poorlittlefish

The part-time staff are gaining as they're ending up with the equivalent of 8 days' additional leave by choosing to take it all on weeks when they work fewer than their contracted hours. If their salary is averaged out so that it's based on the number of hours they are contracted to work over a 12-month period then the same principle should apply to their leave, otherwise the end result is that part-time staff get disproportionately more leave, thus putting those who work full-time at a disadvantage when all parties should be equal.

As I say, I've had advice from ACAS so will get this verified by a solicitor. If changes are needed then I will introduce them from the next leave year rather than now.

poorlittlefish

The staff work on shifts, so this advice seems to apply:

From nidirect.gov.uk:

Shift workers
If you are a shift worker your leave is calculated by using an average of your shifts over a 12 week period.

For example, if you always work four 12-hour shifts, followed by four days off (the ‘continental’ shift pattern) then the average working week is three-and-a-half 12-hour shifts. You would be entitled to 19.6 shifts of 12 hours as annual leave a year:

5.6 weeks x 3.5 shifts = 19.6 12 hour shifts

For other shift patterns, it may be easiest to calculate according to the established pattern of repeat.

Takeaway_Addict

poorlittlefish wrote: »

The part-time staff are gaining as they're ending up with the equivalent of 8 days' additional leave by choosing to take it all on weeks when they work fewer than their contracted hours. If their salary is averaged out so that it's based on the number of hours they are contracted to work over a 12-month period then the same principle should apply to their leave, otherwise the end result is that part-time staff get disproportionately more leave, thus putting those who work full-time at a disadvantage when all parties should be equal.

As I say, I've had advice from ACAS so will get this verified by a solicitor. If changes are needed then I will introduce them from the next leave year rather than now.

But the part time staff are not given holiday based on days....it's hours so it could be 96 x 1 hour days or 8 x 12 hour days, either way it's the same amount of holiday.

Podge52

I think I see where the op's coming from.

Are you saying that although they only use three days holiday they get paid 1/5th of their annual holiday pay,and they continue to receive this 1/5th for each holiday they take?

getmore4less

poorlittlefish wrote: »

The staff work on shifts, so this advice seems to apply:

From nidirect.gov.uk:

Shift workers
If you are a shift worker your leave is calculated by using an average of your shifts over a 12 week period.

For example, if you always work four 12-hour shifts, followed by four days off (the ‘continental’ shift pattern) then the average working week is three-and-a-half 12-hour shifts. You would be entitled to 19.6 shifts of 12 hours as annual leave a year:

5.6 weeks x 3.5 shifts = 19.6 12 hour shifts

For other shift patterns, it may be easiest to calculate according to the established pattern of repeat.

Thats right and each shift they take off they use ONE of the 19.6.
Some weeks off that will be 4 shifts some weeks it will be 3 depending when the weeks fall on the pattern.

If the shifts are variable hours then you have to go to hours to get it to work.

getmore4less

poorlittlefish wrote: »

Conversely, then, they should get paid less for the weeks they work fewer hours, but this doesn't happen as they are paid the same amount for each week, regardless.

Thats why you have to match the holiday hours to the hours that are worked on the shift pattern.

Look at a very simple example

worker does 1 day one week and two days the next week repeat.

say they get 6 weeks holiday 1.5(average) so 9 days.

if they take a week of when they work one day they iuse 1 days holiday if they take a week of when they work 2 thats 2 days off the allowance.

They could end up with 9 weeks off or 4.5 but that is correct they still only get 9 paid days off.

As soon as you go away from non standard weeks you have to forget that a week is 7 days.


The way you are going if a worker did 4 days one week then no days the next week if they booked a week on the week they did not work they would lose holiday!

theoretica

poorlittlefish wrote: »

The part-time staff are gaining as they're ending up with the equivalent of 8 days' additional leave by choosing to take it all on weeks when they work fewer than their contracted hours. If their salary is averaged out so that it's based on the number of hours they are contracted to work over a 12-month period then the same principle should apply to their leave, otherwise the end result is that part-time staff get disproportionately more leave, thus putting those who work full-time at a disadvantage when all parties should be equal.

As I say, I've had advice from ACAS so will get this verified by a solicitor. If changes are needed then I will introduce them from the next leave year rather than now.

From a business point of view one of the major reasons for calculating leave in hours, the way it is done at present, is it is comparatively simple to calculate. If you try to make both the number of days and the time off add up your payroll and HR systems may have problems coping.

The part time staff are getting more days off at present, but they are doing so by working the same annual hours, over more longer and fewer shorter shifts.

liney

In my last job i worked Monday, Tuesday all day, and Friday 1/2 day. Full time staff got 30 days a year inclusive of BH and I got 15 days, also inclusive.

However, if I booked off 1/2 Friday, Monday, Tuesday and then the following 1/2 Friday I effectively got 8 days off work by booking 3 days. Of course the Wednesday and Thursday of those 2 weeks were not actually holiday as I was never contracted to work them.

Is this the kind of situation you are referring to OP? I'm still confused.