Here are some typical questions we get about holiday leave entitlement for employees and other workers.

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Does my new employee have to accrue holiday before I have to pay them for holiday leave?

Their right to statutory holiday leave comes into effect from day 1, so they will start to accrue leave from that point, but are only entitled to be paid for leave if they have accrued enough entitlement at that point. However, some organisations do still make payment of holiday taken in advance of the leave being accrued, normally on the basis that they can recover overpayments if the worker leaves the company having taken too much holiday. Some organisations also have terms in their holiday policy that says, for example, no holiday can be taken during the first 3 months of employment.

Do I have to pay my employee for bank holidays?

There is no statutory right for a worker to be paid for a Bank or Public Holiday. The right is to 5.6 weeks leave under statutory provisions and it is up to the Company to determine if that includes Bank/Public Holidays. It is also at your discretion as to whether your workers are entitled or are required to take leave on Bank or Public Holidays, or if they have to work. Many employers who do not require staff to work on a Bank or Public Holiday specify these dates as pre-allocated leave taken out of their annual holiday entitlement.

If my employee leaves the company and they have overtaken their holiday leave, can I make a deduction from their pay?

Only if you have a contractual right to do so. If you do, we recommend you notify the employee in writing that a deduction will be made from their pay and how much you expect that to be. This will allow your employee fair and reasonable time to come back to you if they disagree with your calculations.

My worker has returned from 2 weeks holiday and said they were sick for the second week, so they want the leave counted as sickness and their holiday credited back to them to take at a later date. This is surely open to abuse – can they do that?

Following case law on this point it may be that you should agree to their request. However, we recommend you clearly set out what rules apply in these circumstances in your holiday policy. Not in your policy? Speak to the IRS HR team – we will review your policy and recommend the necessary changes to limit the risk of abuse, and clearly set out the terms and conditions that apply to your employees’ holiday leave.