Increase in Holiday Entitlement as of 1 April 2009

» Posted on: 23 March 2009
» Posted by: Michelle Lawton
» Service area: General

Holidays are on the increase again! From 1 October 2007 the statutory holiday entitlement for workers increased from 4 weeks per leave year to 4.8 weeks per leave year which meant that a worker who worked a five-day week would be entitled to 24 days holiday which was an increase from 20 days holiday pay pre 1 October 2007.

From 1 April 2009 however workers will be entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday per holiday year. This means that a worker who works a five-day week will be entitled to 28 days of paid holiday per leave year. This is the minimum holiday entitlement an employer must give to a worker. For part-time workers this is calculated on a pro-rata basis.

This increase in holiday entitlement can include public and bank holidays and any days off the worker takes for public or bank holidays can be counted towards a worker’s statutory holiday entitlement as long as it is paid leave.

Detailed below are examples of how to calculate the increased holiday entitlement:

From 1 April 2009, workers are entitled to an extra 0.8 weeks’ holiday. However much will depend on when the leave year runs from and too, and an employer will have to recalculate a workers’ statutory holiday entitlement based on the number of months in the leave year falling after 1 April 2009.

For example, if their leave year runs from 1 January to 31 December, workers are entitled to nine months worth of the additional entitlement (April – December) which equates to an extra 0.6 weeks:-

(0.8 / 12) x 9 = 0.6 weeks which is an additional 3 days holiday based on a five-day week on top of the 24 days workers are currently entitled to. This totals 27 days holiday entitlement.

If their leave year runs from 1 October 2008 to 30 September 2009, workers are entitled to six months’ worth of the additional entitlement (April – September) which equates to an extra 0.4 weeks:-

(0.8 / 12) x 6 = 0.4 weeks which is an additional 2 days holiday based on a five-day week on top of the 24 days workers are currently entitled to. This totals 26 days holiday entitlement.

New Starters

Another example is if a worker starts working for you part-way through the leave year. In this situation the worker is entitled to paid leave proportionate to when the leave year starts and ends. For example:-

If your leave year runs from 1 January to 31 December and a new worker starts on 1 March 2009 then their holiday entitlement is:-

1 March 2009 – 31 March 2009 = 4 weeks; therefore

(4 weeks / 52 weeks) x 4.8 weeks = 0.37 weeks

plus

1 April 2009 – 31 December 2009 = 39 weeks; therefore

(39 weeks / 52 weeks) x 5.6 weeks = 4.2 weeks.

This would mean that a new worker starting on 1 March 2009 with a leave year of 1 January to 31 December would have a total holiday entitlement of 4.57 weeks which equates to 23 days holiday entitlement based on a five-day week.

The increase in statutory holiday entitlement is a beneficial change in the terms and conditions of employment for the worker. As such best practise is to inform staff in writing about the increased entitlement. There is however no need to reissue contracts.

Now might be a time to review how your holiday system works before the change comes in.

Payment in Lieu of Holidays
Note also the change in the law with regards to paying a worker in lieu of any additional holiday they may have remaining in the leave year.

Part of the transitional provision allowed employers to pay in lieu of the increased holiday entitlement. From 1 April 2009, payment in lieu will not be permitted and a worker will be required to take their full statutory holiday entitlement. However a payment in lieu will be allowed for any leave which is above the statutory entitlement depending on the employment contract.

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