You are in: Home Page | About Thompsons | Publications | LELR Issue 22

Issue 22 (May 1998) - Working Time Special

Contents

The time is nigh
What does it cover?
Entitlements and limits: enforcement
Adapting work to the worker
Working to the limit
Give us a break
Modifications and restrictions
Minimum holiday rights
What about the workers?

Minimum holiday rights

Paid Annual Leave (Regulations 12-14)

General There are currently 2.5 million UK workers who have no right to a paid holiday, and as many again who have an entitlement to less than the amount the Regulations will now provide.

Disappointingly, the Government chooses to exercise the option of a lower entitlement of three weeks per year for a transitional period until 23 November 1999. Not only is this unnecessarily mean, it creates complication and confusion.

The three week entitlement will come into force on 1 October 1998, but the increase to four weeks will come into force on 23 November 1999, leaving awkward calculations and bureaucracy with a changeover 53 days into the second holiday year. This is because the holiday year will start on 1 October 1998 for all existing employees, unless another date is agreed with the employer.

The Government fails to provide that the statutory entitlement should be in addition to bank holidays, despite an EU Social Affairs Council Minute to that effect.

The comments in the Consultation Document concerning part-time workers are misleading. The Government suggests that a part-time worker who works 50% of the time of a full-time worker should receive only half the number of days leave.

The worker should receive the number of days leave, equivalent to three working weeks, albeit that the pay received for those days will be half that of the full-time worker.

The Government proposes a three month qualifying period before leave can be taken. This is a considerable improvement on the 49 week qualifying period proposed by the Tories, but it still runs the risk of abuse by employers seeking to establish a series of interrupted short-term contracts.

Paid annual leave cannot be carried over to another year, although contractual leave may be. If leave is untaken when employment comes to an end, there must be a payment in lieu. There is no corresponding obligation to repay the employer for excess leave taken unless this has been agreed by a workforce agreement.

The proposals requiring notice of proposed leave are slanted heavily in favour of employers. Employers can require employees to take all of their leave on certain dates.

Employees must give four weeks' notice of proposed leave, but the employer has seven days in which to refuse the request. There is no obligation on the employer to act reasonably, nor is there any restriction on the grounds for refusal.

The pay for annual leave must be the higher of any contractual entitlement or a 'week's pay' within the meaning in the Employment Rights Act, but without any statutory maximum.