Forties People

Whilst this is great news for employees, there are a number of steps the employer - and recruiter - has to put into place in order to make the changes as seamless as possible.

The headline facts are as follows -

• Statutory minimum holiday entitlement has increased from 4.8 weeks per year to 5.6 weeks per year
• A typical five-day-week employee has his or her entitlement raised from 24 to 28 days per year
• Employees with irregular working patterns and those who work less than five days a week are entitled to 28 days pro rata
• Those working more than five days a week will have their entitlement capped at 28 days per year

As always, it's not as simple as giving everyone four extra holiday days. Due to the fact that it is a beneficial alteration to their terms and conditions, you don't have to reissue contracts to your staff. You do however need to let everyone know what his or her increased entitlement will be in written form, i.e. a staff letter.

Staying with the same theme, a common area of confusion surrounding employment regulations is that of public and bank holidays. As has always been the case, the minimum statutory holiday entitlement can be inclusive of public and bank holidays but employees do not have an automatic right to take these days as paid leave.

Although most forward-thinking companies will usually not make their employees use up holiday entitlement for public and bank holidays, technically speaking, should an employee not wish to work on the aforementioned days, they will need to make a request to take them from their entitlement, providing they have accrued enough during the course of the year.

If you are unsure as to where you stand regarding the new legislation, or you need some further information and advice about how to inform your employees, click here to contact the specialists at Forties People.