Employers have an obligation to pay all workers holiday leave totalling 5.6 weeks.
For someone working a 5-day week, this equates to 28 days, i.e. 5 * 5.6.
Assuming 28 days for simplicity, Easter 2024 has highlighted that Easter in 2025 is later which may present an issue for employers where:
- The leave years runs from 01 April to 31 March and
- The contract of employment states that the worker will be paid ’20 days plus Bank Holidays’
There are usually 8 Bank Holidays in a year, hence the reason for 1.6 weeks, as 1.6 * 5 = 8. However, for the 01 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 leave year, there were more Bank Holidays:
Date Bank Holiday
1 07/04/2023 Good Friday
2 10/04/2023 Easter Monday
3 01/05/2023 Early May
4 08/05/2023 Coronation
5 29/05/2023 Late May
6 28/08/2023 August
7 25/12/2023 Christmas Day
8 26/12/2023 Boxing Day
9 01/01/2024 New Year
10 29/03/2024 Good Friday
If the contract says the worker will be paid for Bank Holidays and there happened to be 10, the employer should have paid for 10. If they did not, this would have been a breach of contract.
For the 01 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 leave year, the late Easter means different Bank Holidays:
Date Bank Holiday
1 01/04/2024 Easter Monday
2 06/05/2024 Early May
3 27/05/2024 Late May
4 26/08/2024 August
5 25/12/2024 Christmas Day
6 26/12/2024 Boxing Day
7 01/01/2025 New Year
So, if the employer pays the 7 Bank Holidays, there is the issue that they will not breach the employment contract but they will be in breach of the Working Time Regulations 1998 which says that the statutory minimum is 28 days (5.6 weeks).
For Bookkeepers
An employer does not want to be in breach of a contract or legislation, as both have the implications of ending up in an Employment Tribunal. However, in the above situation of a leave year 01 April to 31 March and the contractual clause ’20 days plus Bank Holidays’ it seems as though an employer may unknowingly be in breach of legislation.
ICB believe it is responsible to make you aware of this and possible tips for dealing with the situation, which will occur when there are not 8 Bank Holidays in the leave year, for example 2027/28:
- Maybe the employer will want to pay extra holiday (the 1 day that is missing that is due in legislation)
- Maybe the contract could be amended to say ’28 days inclusive of Bank Holidays’ – though will this mean pay adjustments when there are more then 8 Bank Holidays (like 2024/25 and 2026/27 with 10)
