Holiday Entitlement & Bank Holidays

binnie

Hi, I have just had my first interview today since being laid off work in July this year.
At the interview the lady told me that at first you get 20 days holiday per year, that 20 includes bank holidays.
The place is only shut on Xmas Day and is open all year round so bank holidays will have to be worked.

If for instance there are 8 bank holidays a year, then that only gives 12 days holiday from the company.
Wasn't there a new law out last year or so about getting the bank holidays back if you had to work them?
I thought employees would get 20 days, plus bank holidays.

Can anyone help please.

squiggles

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/WorkingHoursAndTimeOff/DG_10029788

ckerrd

"A worker is entitled to holiday from their first day of employment. The minimum statutory entitlement is currently four weeks annually. This will increase to 4.8 weeks from 1 October 2007 and 5.6 weeks from 1 April 2009."

I think that bank holidays, currently, count towards this however there is a consultation document which is investigating the possibility of bank holidays being excluded from the minimum

PasturesNew

binnie wrote: »

Hi, I have just had my first interview today since being laid off work in July this year.
At the interview the lady told me that at first you get 20 days holiday per year, that 20 includes bank holidays.
The place is only shut on Xmas Day and is open all year round so bank holidays will have to be worked.

If for instance there are 8 bank holidays a year, then that only gives 12 days holiday from the company.
Wasn't there a new law out last year or so about getting the bank holidays back if you had to work them?
I thought employees would get 20 days, plus bank holidays.

Can anyone help please.

The law changed from 1 October to be 24 days, including bank holidays.
But there is no obligation on the employer to let you have bank holidays off.
So, with Xmas Day being shut, you would get 23 days of your choosing - but that does not mean you have a right to choose to take bank holidays off, nor to be paid extra if you work them.

Terrylw1

I know what you mean, I saw something very recently about this in a newspaper article. Some companies include your 8 day bank holiday entitlement in your annual holidays. It's just a way of not saying "we're only giving you 12 days".

You are entitled to bank holidays. I used to work them and where this happens, you have to have a day off to compensate as they are legally yours to have, I thought.

However, I'm not sure if there is now a minimum days you should have from the employer on top of this.

Think this should help you...

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?topicId=1079427399&r.li=1079484078&r.l1=1073858787

binnie

Hmm, so still not really sure where I stand.
Tomorrow they are telling me if I've got the job or not. Trouble is I desperatley need it, but don't want to be fobbed off with dodgy rules about holiday entitlement.

I did ask the question about if we got double pay if we had to work a bank holiday and the interviewer commented that she didn;t do the job for money, she did it because she loved it.
Not in my case, I do it for the money and then it's only minimum wage.

PasturesNew

Many jobs don't pay any extra for overtime, weekends, bank holidays.
I'd say the fact that they only close one day a year is an indication that no matter which days you are working you will be paid the same.

The only issue here then is whether you point out to them they are wrong about the holidays and it DOES apply to them since 1 October.

As a note, if their holiday year goes 1 January to 31 December, working on the old "20 days a year", they would have had to give their staff an extra 1 day between 1/10 and 31/12 this year. So as a new person there, say you started on 1/11, that would equate to 2/3rds of one day to you, which they could offer to you as you being able to take a whole day off but only be paid 2/3rds for it. What they cannot do it ignore it/not pay you for that time. Although, having said that, 2 months' entitlement is now precisely 4 days. So that would make it easier to work out ... just gets tricky if you start on a different day.

PasturesNew

Terrylw1 wrote: »

You are entitled to bank holidays. I used to work them and where this happens, you have to have a day off to compensate as they are legally yours to have, I thought.

No. The law has always been the number of days, not which days.
The days you actually work are what is in your contract of employment and a lot will even specifically forbid people having bank holidays off (e.g. ice cream sellers, deck chair attendants ... people in the service and tourism industries, AMONG others of course)

Having bank holidays off is more the culture of office workers.

Terrylw1

Doesn't the unsocialable hours issue cover this in some way if you cannot have them back? I've been paid double or even triple pay but this was years ago and it was discretionary...they couldn't get anyone to cover boxing day otherwise!

I thought even working Sundays you should receive double pay. Those at the company I work for have their pay topped up where they work permanently by contract "out of hours" which for them means constantly working up to 8pm (starting at 11 or 12). That came in around a year ago.

Any ideas Pasturesnew?

binnie

Do you not get 1.5 days off for every month you have worked there.
The start date is 29th October and I would be working five days a week or 35 hours.

PasturesNew

binnie wrote: »

Do you not get 1.5 days off for every month you have worked there.
The start date is 29th October and I would be working five days a week or 35 hours.

With the legal minimum at 24 days .... and there being 12 months in the year.... that is 2 days/month