Leaving Job, How Much Annual Leave am I Owed?

vouchercodes_2

Hi,

I am getting paid up to 5th August when I leave my job. I work 37.5 hours per week, 5 days per week. Holiday year commences on 1st January and finishes on 31st December each year.

I have taken 11 days this year and 6 bank holidays.

My contract says "You are entitled to 25 days, this includes the statutory minimum holiday entitlement of 25 days, to which 8 days public holidays have been added."

My employer has used the calculation of 28 days in my holiday owed and said it should not say 25 days in my contract.

Is there any reason why they have done this?

Should they have instead used 33 days (25 plus 8 bank holidays) to work out my holiday time owed?

Why is my former employer saying this was a mistake in the contract? 

I can ask my former employer of course but thought I would ask here in case I am missing something obvious. I believe that I would be owed more if it is based on 33 days (assuming bank holidays would get included) rather than on 28 days. 

billy2shots

The legal requirement is based on 5.6 x your employment hours. 

If you always work 5 days with the same hours that means 

5 days x 5.6= 28 days paid leave. 

vouchercodes_2

billy2shots said:

The legal requirement is based on 5.6 x your employment hours. 

If you always work 5 days with the same hours that means 

5 days x 5.6= 28 days paid leave. 

Hi @billy2@BillScarab

Thanks very much for the response. That makes sense. I'm not sure why my former employer used 28 days as the basis of the holiday owed to me rather than the 33 days (25 days + 8 public holidays) specified in my contract. 

74jax

I read your contact to be 25 days, of which 8 are bank holidays. Not 8 on top, making 33.
This is wrong, and rightly they have accepted this, and said the 25 in your contact should be 28.

Undervalued

vouchercodes_2 said:

Hi,

I am getting paid up to 5th August when I leave my job. I work 37.5 hours per week, 5 days per week. Holiday year commences on 1st January and finishes on 31st December each year.

I have taken 11 days this year and 6 bank holidays.

My contract says "You are entitled to 25 days, this includes the statutory minimum holiday entitlement of 25 days, to which 8 days public holidays have been added."

My employer has used the calculation of 28 days in my holiday owed and said it should not say 25 days in my contract.

Is there any reason why they have done this?

Should they have instead used 33 days (25 plus 8 bank holidays) to work out my holiday time owed?

Why is my former employer saying this was a mistake in the contract? 

I can ask my former employer of course but thought I would ask here in case I am missing something obvious. I believe that I would be owed more if it is based on 33 days (assuming bank holidays would get included) rather than on 28 days. 

Possibly but the legal minimum is 28 days but that can include all bank holidays. Many employers give more holiday but any days over and above the legal minimum is a contractual matter and may have terms and conditions attached.

penners324

The statutory minimum is actually 20 days plus 8 Bank Holidays 

Undervalued

penners324 said:

The statutory minimum is actually 20 days plus 8 Bank Holidays 

No it isn't!

Although it often works out like that for many people, the concept of bank holidays has no legal significance at all.

The legal entitlement, for an employee on regular hours is 5.6 of their normal working weeks as paid holiday. If they only work, say, two days a week then they are entitled to the equivalent of 5.6 two day weeks as holiday. So, just over 11 days in total.

For a full time employee this works out as 28 days paid holiday, to be taken when the employer chooses.

In some jobs that may mean the eight bank holidays plus 20 other days but any employee can be required to work some or all bank holidays and have to take holiday at other times. There is no legal right to a bank holiday off, not even Christmas day, nor is there any legal entitlement to a higher rate of pay for working an bank holiday! 

Savvy_Sue

In previous years, have you had 28 or 33 days leave?

prettyandfluffy

Is your employer deducting the remaining bank holidays this year - those that fall after you have left your job but are within the current leave year? If so that would seem entirely reasonable to me.

vouchercodes_2

Savvy_Sue said:

In previous years, have you had 28 or 33 days leave?

Hi @Savvy_Sue, thanks for your reply, I joined the company mid way through 2022 so my holiday was based on what is in my contract (25 days + 8 bank holidays). 

vouchercodes_2

prettyandfluffy said:

Is your employer deducting the remaining bank holidays this year - those that fall after you have left your job but are within the current leave year? If so that would seem entirely reasonable to me.

Hi @prettyandfluffy, thanks for your message. I do not believe so as they have deducted the 6 bank holidays that have taken place so far in 2023.