Am I entitled to paid holiday?

All workers have a right to at least 5.6 weeks’ paid annual leave per year but you could be entitled to more than that.  You start accruing your holiday as soon as you start work.

To work out how many days statutory holiday you can take a year, you need to multiply 5.6 by the number of days you work in a week. For example, if you work 5 days in a week, you would be entitled to 28 days’ paid holiday per year (5.6 x 5).  Part time workers are entitled to a pro rata amount, for example, if you work 3 days per week you are entitled to 16.8 days (5.6 x 3). This is the statutory minimum and your contract of employment may give you more holiday than this.

Your holiday pay will be based on your normal weekly wage (excluding non-guaranteed overtime). If your pay changes each week, your holiday pay should be based on your average weekly wage over the previous 12 weeks.

If you want to take holiday you must give your employer advance notice of the dates you would like to book. If your contract of employment does not stipulate how much notice you must give, the notice you give should be at least twice as long as the amount of holiday you want to take. For example, if you want to book two weeks’ holiday you should give four weeks’ notice. Your employer can also control when you take your holiday, subject to certain rules.

Your contract may contain other rules about taking your holiday.

In most cases holiday must be taken in the leave year in which it is accrued. However, there may be some situations where you can carry over accrued but untaken leave to the next leave year, for example, where you have been unable to take your annual leave because of maternity leave or long term sickness absence.  There are also special rules that relate to your holiday entitlement if you are unwell during planned holidays. There are complex rules relating to this and it is recommended that you take legal advice.

Remember that this right does not apply to the genuinely self-employed. If you are unsure about your employment status, it is recommended that you take legal advice.

For more information, contact Yasmin Awan on 01689 887805 or yasmin.awan@cwj.co.uk