- Workers are entitled to 4.8 weeks per year rising to 5.6 weeks from April 2009. For an employer working five days per week, 4.8 weeks equates to 24 days and from April 2009 it will be 28 days
- Employees are entitled to be paid their normal rate of pay during this time
- Holiday entitlement can include bank holidays
- During the first year of employment a worker can be required to accrue holiday entitlement before it may be taken
- Employers can give notice of holiday may be taken, eg: between Christmas and the New Year, or restrict times when it may be taken, for example, during busy periods such as pre-Christmas
- An employee is required to give notice equivalent to twice the amount of holiday required. For example, a worker wishing to take two weeks’ holiday is required to give four weeks’ notice
Bank Holidays
There are eight Bank/public holidays in England ie:
- Christmas Day
- Boxing Day
- New Year’s Day
- Good Friday
- Easter Monday
- May Day
- Late May
- August Bank Holiday
Bank holidays can be treated as a normal working day – it depends on the nature of the contract and the employer’s business.
There is no obligation for an employer to give additional pay for working on these days, providing pay is at least national minimum wage. This is a contractual matter and what tends to be the norm in that line of business
Where holiday entitlement is the statutory minimum inclusive of bank holidays, staff who work on these days should be given an alternate day off if it means they fall below statutory minimum holiday entitlement
Part-time staff should receive pro rata entitlement for bank holidays. For example, a part-time person working three-fifths of the working week should receive three-fifths of bank holidays
Please note: Information is for general use only and correct at time of publication. Please check with www.gov.uk for updates.