What is the statutory minimum amount of holiday?
The statutory minimum holiday entitlement is to 28 days holiday which can include Bank and Public Holidays.
What happens about not working on Bank and Public Holidays?
Employees who would normally work on a day on which a Bank or Public Holiday falls will need to use a day’s holiday from their entitlement not to work on a Bank or Public Holiday. This is the fairest way of ensuring that part-time employees are not disadvantaged. For example a part-time employee who does not normally work on a Monday would lose their pro-rata entitlement to the 6 Bank and Public Holidays that fall on a Monday because they are not at work anyway.
Is my employee entitled to take holiday during a period of sickness absence?
Provided they have accrued the holiday and their GP confirms that they are fit to go on holiday then yes, the employee can take holiday during a period of sickness absence.
If my employee is off sick, does holiday still accrue during the period of sickness?
Yes – holiday entitlement continues to accrue during any period of sickness absence, including long-term sickness absence.
If my employee is dismissed for incapacity because they are never going to be able to return to work at all, do I have to pay holiday pay?
Yes – you will have to pay in lieu of any holiday entitlement accrued but not taken plus full pay for the contractual or statutory notice period, whichever is the longer.
My employees regularly take a day’s holiday rather than a day sick even though they are sick. Can I stop them doing that?
Potentially yes but only provided you let all your employees know at the same time and in writing that you are changing your policy and give them at least 30 days notice of the change coming into effect. Holiday should be taken as holiday and not used to allow the employee to be paid for a day’s sickness absence.
