February 29 - is it technically unpaid?

helloecho

If you have an annual salary paid monthly, does this mean you actually work an extra day unpaid on a leap year? Is it common for companies to pay the extra day on a pro-rata basis, or is it just a case of accepting it as a 4-yearly inevitability? Does it somehow even out in the end?

Maybe I'm just trying to justify surfing MSE in office hours, but I am genuinely intruiged!

Thankyou in advance for your thoughts!

dmg24

We have had this question before.

It could be said that it is unpaid, or it could be that you are overpaid by a day for the next three years?!

Zazen999

No

Technically February is always overpaid if you use that logic being that it is usually 28 days...

PBA

Yes and no. Assuming you're on a contract saying you work Mon-Fri for xxxxx pounds per year, then you are being paid for it as it's a working weekday. But then you're working 1 day more this year than last year, so you're not getting paid for it. One take I read on it is that, regardless of whether Feb is 28 or 29 days, most employers pay 1/12th of the annual salary each month so you get paid more per day in Feb than any other month.

Personally I'm not working and still getting paid for it, but only because I had annual leave left over from last year that has to be used by the end of Feb!

Timmne

Annual salaries could be said to be paid on the basis of 365.2422 days, meaning I'm overpaid for three years and the fourth levels it out.

j-baby-scotland

This is an interesting read from today's BBC site :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7269816.stm

Who owns today?

'It comes but once every four years and this 29 February some workers are being given the extra day as holiday. Employers won't like the idea, but we tend to look at additional time as a gift.'

If you're starting to feel like a holiday today, you might be interested to hear that the National Trust has granted its whole workforce the day off. Calling it the Great Green Leap Day, they are asking staff to use it for the environment. "We're giving them this opportunity to look at steps to green their own lives at home," explains Mike Holland of the Trust. "Anything from converting to greener energy to starting a compost heap."

badmumof1

its only 1 day every four years so its hardly worth getting steamed up about.

Badger_Lady

I always used to get lumbered with working night shifts when the clocks go back (on an hourly rate). Now, that really was free work, because my shift was from 8pm-8am but I only got paid for 12 hours!

tigtag02

it depends how your monthly salary is calculated.

if its calculated at weekly wage*52/12 then yes (unless you apply Zazen999's theory)

if its calculated at weekly wage*52.178/12 then no

however I have to agree with badmumof1 ~ is it really worth the stress??

Lakeuk

Badger_Lady wrote: »

I always used to get lumbered with working night shifts when the clocks go back (on an hourly rate). Now, that really was free work, because my shift was from 8pm-8am but I only got paid for 12 hours!

But when the clocks go forward you work only 11hrs but get paid for 12hrs - works it's selve out

Badger_Lady

Lakeuk wrote: »

But when the clocks go forward you work only 11hrs but get paid for 12hrs - works it's selve out

If only I had the opportunity to work that night :rolleyes: