Holiday entitlement

You must pay holiday for all employees- irrespective of the size of your business or the number of hours they do.

Employees are entitled to 28 days/ 5.6 weeks paid holiday per annum. As your employee’s hours vary, you will need to pro rata this for the typical number of days a week they work and the number of hours. You may therefore find it easier to apply the percentage of 12.07% to the number of hours they work in a year instead.

They must give you notice of holiday, amounting to twice as long as the leave requested. But you have the right to refuse permission, provided you give as much notice as the leave requested.

Don’t forget that the leave entitlement runs with the holiday year in their contract. If they don’t have one, the year should start on the day the employee joined or the 1 October. Being seasonal, you may also want to specify when you want your employee to take their holiday; and when you don’t in their contract.

For future reference, holiday entitlement is not restricted to just employees. It also applied to the broader definition of workers, so will also apply to anyone you may have working for you on a temporary, seasonal or casual basis.

Employment issues can be tricky, so please feel free to contact your local TaxAssist Accountant for some professional advice.

Date published 5 Dec 2012

This article is intended to inform rather than advise and is based on legislation and practice at the time. Taxpayer’s circumstances do vary and if you feel that the information provided is beneficial it is important that you contact us before implementation. If you take, or do not take action as a result of reading this article, before receiving our written endorsement, we will accept no responsibility for any financial loss incurred.