Holiday and holiday pay

Updating author: Nicky Stibbs

XpertHR editor: Zuraida Curtis

Summary

• The Working Time Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/1833) entitle workers to a minimum of  5.6 weeks' paid annual holiday, comprised of four weeks under reg.13, and an additional 1.6 weeks under reg.13A.  
• The Working Time Regulations 1998 have been amended to provide a definition of irregular hours workers and part-year workers.
• There are different statutory paid holiday provisions for regular workers and irregular hours and part-year workers before and after 1 April 2024.
• During the first year of employment, the amount of leave that workers can take at any time is limited to the amount of leave that they have accrued. The accrual method for holiday entitlement for irregular or part-year workers is the same in the first year as other years of employment.
• Except where employers have opted to pay an irregular hours or part-year worker rolled-up holiday pay, workers must be paid at the rate of a "week's pay" for each week of their statutory annual leave.  
• Workers are required to take their leave entitlement in the holiday year in which it is accrued, unless they are prevented from taking it due to sickness absence or other exceptions and are entitled to carry it forward into the following leave year.
• The leave entitlement under reg.13, reg.13A and reg.15B may not be replaced by a payment in lieu, except where the employment is terminated.  
• Workers who are denied their right to statutory paid annual holiday or payment in lieu of untaken holiday accrued on termination, may complain to an employment tribunal.