July 2024 Newsletter

June was a busy month for me, I appeared on Black Country Extra, on the Business Hour with Steve Parker. Thanks to all that managed to tune in and listen.

And

I hosted my first ever Non League networking meeting at Stourbridge. I will be hosting again on the 4th July (election day!) if any of you are interested in having some fun while networking, here's the link:

Non league tickets...

One of the topics I regularly get asked about is holiday/annual leave. As summer is in full swing now, let's talk about the most important things you need to be aware of:

Entitlement

The working time regulations 1998, state that full time workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks paid holiday (28 days) per annum. This calculation can include bank holidays.

If a worker works part time then the whole of the 5.6 weeks (28 days) need to be pro rated to calculate their holiday entitlement. Many people mistakenly only pro rata the 20 days.

New starters and workers who are leaving the business will have their holidays adjusted accordingly too.

As a business you may choose to offer more paid annual leave as part of your benefits package, which is fine. Just communicate this to your staff in their contract/policy.

You will also need to commuicate what the annual leave year looks like - is it Jan-Dec or something different?

Sick leave/maternity/paternity/shared leave/adoption leave

Holiday entitlement still accrues while a worker is on one of the above leave types.

If they do not use their whole annual leave entitlement due to being on one of these types of leave, then they have the automatic right to carry it over into the next annual leave year. This only applies to the 28 days leave.

Pay

What you pay a worker when they are on annual leave will depend on what type of contract they have and their hours of work.

If the worker has regular hours and fixed pay then they would get their normal pay.

If they work irregular hours or shift work then you calculate their pay by taking the average number of weekly fixed hours a worker has worked in the previous 52 weeks, at their average hourly rate.

If they work part-year working then you would take their average pay from the previous 52 weeks (only counting weeks in which they were paid).

Employers can use rolled-up holiday pay for irregular-hours and part-year workers.

Don't forget that bonuses, commissions, overtime and expenses should all be paid while on annual leave - however, this is a topic all on its own. Any questions on this one, give me a bell.

Rolled up holiday

Rolled-up holiday pay is when an employer spreads holiday pay over the year, by adding an amount on top of someone's normal pay. This is instead of paying someone for their holiday when they take it

It is calculated at 12.07% of a workers total pay in a pay period.

How much notice should a worker give me as an employer?

An employee is required to give notice that is twice as long as the holiday they want to take. However your policy can be more if you need it to be.

Can I tell my worker when to take holiday?

Yes, but you must give them notice. The notice must be at least twice as long as the holiday that you want them to take.

If the holiday is a regular occurrence, i.e you're closed for the Christmas period, then add this to your contract of employment that they will be expected to take this period out of their annual entitlement as the business is closed.

Annual leave is one of the most important things to an employee - fact!

Having an annual leave policy is in both their interest and your businesses interest.

If you need an annual leave policy, give me a call.

Have a great July everyone.