Holiday Entitlement
Almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks paid holiday per year, unless self-employed. Workers who are on furlough due to COVID-19 are still able to accumulate holiday entitlement whilst they are furloughed, meaning they can still take leave while on furlough. Use the government’s entitlement calculator here to work out an employee’s statutory holiday entitlement.
Agency workers
Agency workers including those in the umbrella company can have their usual entitlement pay whilst on furlough. The employer needs to request a grant which will help cover the cost of their wages. Agency workers may also be able to carry their holiday into future leave years. Find out more information here.
Holiday Pay
An employer can still claim for a furloughed workers wages when the employee takes annual leave. If a worker takes annual leave, an employer must correctly calculate and pay holiday pay in accordance to the current legislation. If the calculated rate is above the pay the worker receives on furlough, the employer must pay the difference left over. This only applies if the employer agrees to not reduce the workers pay whilst on furlough. However, as taking holidays does not break the furlough period, the employer can continue to claim the 80% grant from the government to cover most of the costs during the holiday pay. *unless worker still receives full pay*
Bank Holidays
Usually, there is no statutory right time a worker should take off for bank holidays, it is up to the employer to include bank holidays in the workers holiday entitlement. However, a furloughed worker’s bank holidays will not be disrupted by furlough. The worker can either;
• Take the bank holiday at a later date
• Take it as normal (paid annual leave)
An employer must notify the worker 2 days before the bank holiday approaches if they want the worker to take it as paid leave, and the employer must notify the worker 1 day in advance of the 2 days’ notice.
For more information on holiday entitlement and holiday pay head over to Gov.uk
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