New holiday entitlement

[tinac]

Hi

(might be wrong place) - I believe the basic holiday entitlement has increased from 20 to 24 days a year

At present all our business offer is 20 days, so after this announcement they said it would not be increasing because we also get 8 days bank holiday off - therefore we are above the average at 28 days ??

The company does not open on bank holidays - so do not have the choice whether we work the bank holidays or not.

so..does the new 24 days means 24 days holiday before bank holidays are taken into account - or 24 days including bank holidays

Many thanks

[Buenchico]

(2-part post):

Your employer is correct. Statutory holiday entitlements include public holidays.

Under the old rules employees were entitled to a statutory holiday allowance which was calculated as 4 times the number of days worked each week. Thus, for anyone working 5 days per week, the statutory holiday allowance was 20 days. Some employers voluntarily gave their employees 28 days holiday per year by adding on the 8 public holidays. Others simply met their statutory obligation by giving their employees a total of 20 days holiday, including all public holidays.

The TUC (and other bodies) successfully campaigned to persuade the government that all employees should have a total of 28 days holiday per year, including public holidays. i.e. the purpose of the campaign was not to increase everyone's holidays. The objective was solely to boost the holiday entitlement of those employees who found that 8 out of the 20 days were absorbed by public holidays.

[Buenchico]

The government agreed to introduce the changes and, from 1 April 2009, the number of days holiday will be calculated as 5.6 times the number of days worked each week. (i.e. the statutory minimum holiday entitlement, for those who work 5 days per week, will rise to 28 days, including public holidays). As an interim measure, the multiplier is set, from 1 October 2007, as 4.8. Thus, employees who work 5 days per week will be entitled to 24 days holiday, once again including public holidays.

So, as stated, the current changes to holiday entitlements are only intended to boost the entitlements of those employees who were receiving less than 24 days. It was never intended to increase everyone's holidays.

Incidentally, it's worth noting that public holidays have no legal standing. For example, if an employee of Scrooge & Co normally works on Tuesdays, his employer has every right to insist that he works on 25th December this year, without paying any extra money or giving time off in lieu.

Chris

[plowter]

Don't think holidays, think paid holidays. These are days you don't work but still get paid for.

The statutory requirement was that employers had to give staff a minimum of 20 days paid holidays per year. Employers can dictate to a large extend how these paid holidays are taken. For example, a factory may close over Xmas so staff have to use up x days of their paid holidays. It's the same with public/bank holidays (which have now legal basis).

From what you say you get 28 days paid holidays. That's above the new statutory minimum and seems very generous.

Some public bodies (central and local government) make a clear distinction between x days annual leave entitlement plus z days public holidays.

[tinac]

Thank you for clarifying

Yes - talking to others we are not being "cheated"..

just could forsee an extra week on a beach somwhere !!

Many thanks

[Omnicity]

Wait !!!

The current entitlement under the terms of the working time directive equates to a total of 20 days minimum.

Some employers therefore allowed 12 days "annual" holidays supported by the statutory 8 "public holidays".

An amendment to the WTD will mean that the minimum "annual" holidays will be 20 days in addition to the 8 "public holidays".