Government confirms consultation on calculating holiday entitlement for part-year and irregular hours workers

News  |   13 January 2023

Written by
Elliott Flockhart, Solicitor

The Government has announced a consultation on the calculation of holiday entitlement for part-year and irregular hours workers. The consultation is in response to the recent Supreme Court judgment in Harpur Trust v Brazil, which held that holiday entitlement under the Working Time Regulations 1998 for permanent part-year workers, should not be pro-rated, so that it is proportionate to that of a full-time worker.

Essentially, part-year workers are therefore entitled to a larger annual paid holiday entitlement than part-time workers who work the same number of hours throughout the year. In the consultation, the Government propose to introduce a holiday entitlement reference period for part-year and irregular hours workers, to ensure their holiday pay and entitlement is directly proportionate to their hours worked.

The Government are also interested in how entitlement is currently calculated for agency workers and how the consultation period might be implemented.

The consultation, found here, closes on 9 March 2023, and may be of particular interest to employers, workers, business representative groups, unions and those representing the interests of groups in the labour market.

Advice

If you need assistance or advice on the contents of this article, please contact the Employment Team at Thackray Williams LLP 020 8290 0440.

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