The government are set to overturn part-year holiday case law, and have set up a consultation.
If you were working in a sector effected by it, you’ll no doubt remember the Supreme Court ruling on holiday rules for part-year workers, which was arguably the biggest HR news of the year. The Supreme Court said if you work for 3 weeks a year, for example, you still get 5.6 weeks paid holiday. It was a ruling that sent shudders through the spine of every school in the land because of their term time only staff.
The Government has realised that the effect was not one they are comfortable with so they plan to change the law to bring in some logic.
Holiday Rules for Part-Year Workers
They have announced that they are going to make clear in the law that you only get a holiday amount which reflects your working time in the year. If you work 39 weeks in the year (like most term time people), then you only get ¾ of the holiday that a full time (52 week) worker gets.
But the government are going a step further. They are putting more complicated rules in place about how exactly employers work out how much holiday these “part-year” workers get.
Outsourced HR Support
It is these absolutely unpredictable developments that can stump employers, leading to unwanted tribunal claims. Having outsourced HR support will protect your business and give you peace of mind. The benefits of outsourcing HR support include:
- To find out about the developments quickly
- To be kept up to date on the facts, like when the changes will be introduced
- To get guidance on exactly what it means for them
- To get practical niche assistance on how to apply the detail
- To understand how to calculate holiday entitlement for their own part-year staff
- To get the necessary updates to their contracts and handbooks
- To get the letters they need to tell their staff what’s happening
Bookmark KentandLondonHR.co.uk for updates. We should know the next steps in late March/early April. If you want to discuss HR support for your business send a message, and we will be in touch.