Is Everyone Entitled To Paid Holidays?

The Working Time Regulations (WTRs) introduced a new right to paid holidays for most workers. However, some workers were not covered when the WTRs came into force in October 1998 i.e. workers in the following sectors; road; rail; sea; air; inland waterways and lake transport; sea fishing; offshore gas and oil; and doctors in training. From 1 August 2003, most of these workers are now entitled to paid holidays. Other than some very minor exceptions all workers in all sectors are now covered by either the Working Time Regulations or other sector specific legislation.

Workers who qualify are entitled to at least 4 weeks' paid holiday a year. Bank and public holidays count towards the 4 weeks. (But workers and employers can agree longer holidays.)

For the first year of work special accrual rules apply. For each month or part of a month of employment, workers are entitled to one-twelfth of the annual holiday. The amount of time that can be taken at any one time within the first year can be rounded up by up to half a day. So someone working 5 days a week who has worked for 2 months would be entitled to take 3 1/3 days', and can round this up to take 3½ days, holiday.

After the first year of employment, you can take your four weeks' holiday entitlement at any time during the leave year, with your employers approval (see below). If when you leave your employment you have taken more leave than the proportion of the leave year that has past, your employer is entitled to recover or "clawback" this extra amount but only if there is a specific agreement in your contact. This might be, for example, by requiring you to pay back the additional holiday or by doing additional work.

Before taking holidays, you must give your employer notice of at least twice the length of the holiday you want to take e.g. two weeks' notice to take one week's holiday; 6 days' notice to take 3 days' holiday. If the employer does not want you to take that holiday, they can give you counter-notice equal to the holiday e.g. counter-notice one week before you plan to take one week's holiday; counter-notice 3 days before you take 3 days' holiday. If your employer has better procedures for deciding holidays, these can replace the system under the Regulations.

• If the employer wants you to take holiday at a given time e.g. a seasonal shut-down, they must give you notice of at least twice the length of the holiday. But there is no right for the worker to give counter-notice to take that holiday at a different time.
• If you begin work during the leave year, you get the equivalent proportion of the 4 weeks' entitlement. The same applies if you leave during the year.
• Leave cannot be carried over to the next leave year, although your contract of employment might allow this to happen. Nor can you be paid wages instead of your holiday, except when you leave the job, when you are entitled to be paid for any outstanding holiday. If your contract allows you more than 4 weeks holiday, you will only be entitled to be paid for any outstanding holiday over the 4 weeks, if your contract specifically allows for this.
• Part-timers get equivalent leave. So someone working three days a week gets 12 days' holiday.

It may be that your contract gives you better rights or your holiday rights might be specified in a collective agreement. Within two months of the start of your employment your employer should give you written details of your terms and conditions of work. The written statement should include any terms relating to your entitlement to holidays, including public holidays, and holiday pay.
These written details must allow you to calculate precisely your holiday entitlement, including any entitlement to accrued holiday pay on termination of employment.

An employee who takes holiday while in a statutory period of notice (one week for each complete year of service) should be paid during that period.