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Employee holiday entitlement increases

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With holiday entitlements set to increase by four days from 1 October 2007, employment relations service Acas has launched a new guide offering free advice to help employers introduce the changes.

Research undertaken in a survey last year showed that 63% of UK managers were not using their full holiday entitlement and that almost half were losing up to two weeks holiday because they fail to book the time off. As a result, Acas is urging employers and employees to make the most of the changes.

The Acas guide Holidays and holiday pay is available free online to businesses and employees at www.acas.org.uk. The guide offers free advice on holiday rights for full and part-time workers and guidance on how to calculate holiday pay.

The amendments mean that employers may have to take some of the following actions:

• Recalculate new entitlement for part-time and full-time employees
• Inform all employees in writing of the increased entitlement from 1st October
• Ensure that all new written statements of employment feature the updated holiday and holiday pay entitlements.

Susan Clews, Acas Director commented: “With recent changes to holiday entitlement coming into play, this new guide will help employees calculate what they are entitled to and will help employers understand precisely what they should be providing.

“This will ensure that workers make the most of their holiday entitlement and help businesses – particularly smaller ones – plan effectively for periods when employees are away.”

Statutory holiday entitlement increases to 4.8 weeks (24 days if you work a five day week) from 1 October 2007 and to 5.6 weeks (28 days if you work a five day week) from 1 April 2009.

Posted October 2, 2007