Everything you need to know about holiday and leave

It’s crucial to understand what type of leave your employees may be eligible for. It is a legal right for people to take particular types of leave in different circumstances – for example, statutory annual leave for holidays, bereavement leave if a dependant has died, or adoption leave, if someone adopts a child.

 

Making sure staff take the correct leave is crucial. For example, taking annual leave is good for people’s wellbeing and mental health. This will also help to keep staff motivated and productive at work as they will feel rested and recharged.

 

 

Statutory annual leave

 

Anyone who works full time, part time or under a zero-hours contract has the right to statutory paid holiday. This is 5.6 weeks for each year.

 

If someone works full time, you work out the holiday entitlement in days. So, multiply the number of days they work each week by 5.6. This is 5 x 5.6 which is 28 days.

 

As an employer you can include bank holidays in the 5.6 weeks of paid holiday. Some employers may decide to give bank holidays in addition to the statutory minimum.

 

You can read more about how to calculate the number of days holiday for an employee who works part time on the Acas website.

 

 

Bereavement leave

 

Workplace experts Acas says an employee has the right to time off if a dependant dies. This is called bereavement leave.

 

A dependant could be:

• Their husband, wife, civil partner, or partner
• Their child
• Their parent
• A person who lives in the same household – This can’t be a tenant, lodger or employee
• Someone who relies on them, such as an older neighbour

An employee also has the right to time off if their child is stillborn or dies under the age of 18.

 

Employees don’t have a legal right to be paid during bereavement leave for a dependant.

 

It’s important to have a bereavement leave policy for your organisation. It should contain key information, including when bereavement leave applies, how much leave your organisation provides, if leave is paid and how much.

 

 

Statutory maternity leave

 

If one of your employees is taking time off to have a baby, they may be eligible for statutory maternity leave and statutory maternity pay.

 

It doesn’t matter how long someone has been a staff member, how many hours they work, or how much they get paid, they qualify for statutory maternity leave if they are an employee and give you the correct notice.

 

To be eligible for statutory maternity pay, the staff member must:

• Earn an average of at least £125 a week
• Give the correct notice and proof they’re pregnant
• Have worked for you continuously for at least 26 weeks into the qualifying week. The qualifying week is the 15th week before the expected week that the baby is due

 

Paternity leave

 

An employee who is taking time off because their partner is having a baby, adopting a child, or having a baby through a surrogacy arrangement may be eligible for one or two weeks of paternity leave and paternity pay.

 

To qualify for paternity leave, the person must be an employee, give the correct notice, and have been continuously employed by you for at least 26 weeks up to any day in the qualifying week.

 

To qualify for paternity pay, the person must:

• Be employed by you up to the date of birth
• Earn an average of at least £125 a week
• Give the correct notice
• Have been continuously employed for at least 26 weeks up to the end of any day in the qualifying week

 

Adoption leave

 

If someone adopts a child or has a child through surrogacy, they might be eligible for statutory adoption leave and statutory adoption pay. They may also be eligible for Shared Parental Leave and Pay.

 

GOV.UK says that statutory adoption leave is 52 weeks. Only one person in a couple can take adoption leave.

 

 

Time off for dependants

 

At some point a staff member may have an emergency involving a dependant to deal with. They are allowed time off to manage this.

 

There’s no set amount of time that staff can take. GOV.UK says staff are “allowed a reasonable amount of time off to deal with the emergency” but “it depends on the situation”.

 

GOV.UK gives an example of a parent taking time off to look after their child who is unwell and taking them to the doctor. After they have had time off for dependants, you could then ask your employee to take annual leave or parental leave if they want to look after their child for longer.

 

You may decide to pay the staff member for time off for dependants but you don’t legally have to.

 

 

Unpaid parental leave

 

This is unpaid leave to look after the welfare of a child. For example, to settle children into a new nursery.

 

To be eligible, GOV.UK says a staff member must:

• Have been in the company for more than a year
• Be named on the child’s birth or adoption certificate
• Not be self-employed, an agency worker or contractor
• Not be a foster parent (unless they have secured parental responsibility through the courts)
• Have a child who is under 18

The UK Government website offers information on other types of leave entitlement, including sick leave, compassionate leave, and neonatal care leave.