Annual Leave Query

Mikeyyabosbht2012

Hi There,

I am attempting to calculate the annual leave entitlement for a UK employee based on their "Hours Worked Per Week." The standard calculation is 33.25 hours worked per week x 5.6, resulting in 186.2 hours of leave. This calculation assumes a standard working week of 5 days.

However, in this particular scenario, the employee works every day of the week (7 days). Upon entering the figure for the actual number of working days, the annual leave entitlement reduces from 186.2 to 133 hours. I am puzzled by this discrepancy and would appreciate an explanation as to how this calculation is derived, and why the employee appears to be penalized for working the additional days.

Any help - very appreciated.

JGB1955

In the first scenario the employee received 28 days holiday based on 6.65 hours per day/ 33.25 hours per week. The second employee also works 33.25 hours per week so is entitled to the same allowance - 186.2 hours, taken as 39.2 x 4.75 hour days. 

Mikeyyabosbht2012

Thank you for getting back. Unfortunately, this is not the case on the HMRC annual leave calculator website. If the hours worked of 33.25 per week are over a 7 day working week it calculates as 133.

According to HMRC, the leave drops from 186.2 to 133 if the employee works 7 days rather than 5. I think it is because that 5.6 weeks of leave is based on 28 days of leave and a five day working week (28/5 = 5.6). The calculation needs to be adapted for 7 days: (28/7 = 4 weeks of leave) Therefore: 4 x 33.25 = 133

I am guessing this is to encourage workers to rest each week or the calculation always assumes the employee will have two days of rest each week?

It would appear that the employee is being penalised by spreading the 33.25 hour worked over 7 days rather than working 33.25 hours across the standard five working days. I am guessing this is not the case?. The entitlement is simply taking the standard 5.6 weeks based on five working days and distributing evenly across all the days they work. The total amount of leave they receive in hours is different (lower) because they are taking the same entitlement but using it over a different (Additional) number of days.

General_Grant

The reason for the reduction is that the legal entitlement to 5.6 weeks of paid leave for someone working 5 or more days a week.  This is then adjusted to being 28 days assuming a 5-day working week.  There is no extra days entitlement for someone working more than 5 days per week.
Obviously the sensible thing for an employer to do is to provide holiday equivalent to the 5.6 weeks of an individual's working week, as they do for employees working fewer days.