After a relatively quiet period regarding changes to employment law, we now have a “London Bus” situation, with a number turning up at once.
Updated copies of the Employment Pack, Worker Pack and Voluntary Worker Pack, incorporating the changes, are available for purchase on our website. For those who are subscribed to our Premium service, updated copies of the Packs incorporating these changes, including a new Carer’s Leave policy, are being sent out to you.
Holiday Pay – 1 April 2024
In brief, the changes here will simplify the way holiday is calculated for some part-time staff and allow holiday and holiday pay to be pro-rated in a way that more accurately reflects the hours worked.
This change will impact certain part-time employees, workers and voluntary workers. It will not impact volunteers, office holders or the self-employed.
It is relevant for:
- staff who work varying hours each week (and whose pay varies), such as those paid an hourly rate, whose hours may vary from week to week (for example, someone on a zero hours contract)
- part year staff, for example someone whose contract covers a whole year but who is only required to work during school terms.
The change takes place on 1 April 2024 (but you can only implement it when your new holiday year starts – which may be after 1 April).
From that date, for the above classes of employee, you will be able to calculate holiday as a percentage of the hours actually worked, and you will be able to pay them “rolled up holiday” (that is, including an additional amount with every payslip to cover their holiday pay, rather than paying holiday pay when the annual leave is taken).
Calculating how holiday accrues
Holiday will accrue as a percentage.
You take the number of weeks holiday for the full-time employee (say 5.6 weeks) and divide that by the number of remaining weeks in the year (46.4 weeks).
5.6 / 46.4 expressed as a percentage is 12.07%. We have used 5.6 weeks in this example as the statutory minimum holiday is 5.6 weeks, but if you give equivalent full-time staff more holiday, you should use that higher figure (for example 6 weeks holiday would become 6 / 46 = 13.04%).
Applying that percentage to the number of hours worked over the relevant pay period (i.e. a month, if paid monthly) gives you the amount of holiday that has been earned over that period. So, if the percentage was 12.07%, an employee who worked 10 hours in a month, would accrue 1.207 hours holiday. That is then rounded up or down to the nearest hour (so, in this example, 1 hour’s holiday is accrued that month).
Calculating what to pay
If paying “rolled up” holiday pay, then their relevant pay for that pay period is multiplied by the same percentage (for example 12.07%).
Paternity Leave – 6 April 2024
From 6 April 2024, employees will be able to take paternity leave in 2 non-consecutive blocks of 1 week (rather than 1 block only of either 1 week or 2 weeks), and lengthening the period of time employees have to take the leave (from 8 weeks to a year).
The right to paternity leave is for employees only.
Flexible Working Requests – 6 April 2024
From 6 April 2024, all employees, regardless of length of service, will be able to exercise the statutory right to request flexible working.
The number of requests that the employee can make in any 12 month period will increase from 1 to 2.
The period of time to process the request will reduce from 3 months to 2 months.
The right to request flexible working is for employees only.
Carer’s Leave – 6 April 2024
From 6 April 2024, there will be a new statutory right of 1 week’s unpaid leave per year for employees who are providing or arranging care for a dependant with a long-term care need.
The right to carer’s leave is for employees only. We have a standalone Carer’s Leave policy available for purchase on request.
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