Work Holiday Entitlement

[filthiestfis]

My partner works 30 hours a week yet her annual holiday entitlement is 90 hours, and out of these 90 hours, 16 hours are deducted to allow for xmas and boxing day. Is this legal? It seems to me like very few days.

[Buenchico]

Hi Ed.

The statutory holiday entitlement is (for those who have a regular working pattern) 5.6 times the number of days worked each week. (So someone working a 5 day week is entitled to 28 days paid holiday per year. The entitlement for 2009 is actually only 27 days because the current rules didn't come into force until 1st April). The holiday entitlement includes all 'enforced' holidays, when the business is closed, such as Christmas Day and (where appropriate) other public holidays.

When someone has an irregular working pattern an equivalent holiday entitlement must be calculated, using any appropriate method. In the case of someone working 30 hours per week (but perhaps with a different number of hours on each day), the total statutory holiday entitlement must be 5.6 x 30 hours = 168 hours. (For 2009 the actual figure is 162 hours because the current regulations only applied from 1st April).

http://www.direct.gov...dholidays/DG_10029788

Chris

[factor-fiction]

A holiday entitlement of 90 hours per annum seems much too low but, aside from the two December days you mentioned, does she also get some other bank holidays off? If she does and these are outside the 90 hours then this will bring her actual holidays closer to the statutory minimum.
Also, is 30 hours a week her contracted hours? Some employers will set a low contracted hours figure (and base holiday entitlemnt on this) and then ask employees to work additional shifts/hours which are paid at the normal hourly rate

[filthiestfis]

Hi Chris and factor30
She started working at her job in september so wouldnt the rule that came into force on 1st april apply to her?
We have had a look at the contract and it seems to be that her employer count the working year from 1st March so therefore the 90 hours they have given her are her allowance for the current working year up to 28th Feb, so Im assuming that from 1st March she will receive the rest of her allowance. Am I right?

[factor-fiction]

Ah, so the 90 hours covered only part of a year. Next year she will be given a full year's entitlement. I'm sure her employer will comply with the law.

[Buenchico]

The employer seems to have provided slightly more than the statutory minimum holiday allowance. If your partner had started work on Monday 31st August, she'd have worked exactly 26 weeks by Sunday 28th February. So her holiday entitlement would be exactly half of the 168 hours I referred to above. i.e. 84 hours. Given that she actually started work in September the minimum allowance should be slightly less than that. So everything seems to be in order and there's no reason to believe that your partner won't receive the full holiday allowance during the following working year.

Chris