Thanks to trade union campaigning, legalholiday rights and rules on rest breaksare getting better. This booklet explainshow.

Paid holidaysand

at workrest breaks

KnowYour

Rightswww.worksmart.org.uk

Holiday rights are getting better.Thanks to European rules, we haveenjoyed guaranteed paid holidays since 1998.

Now trade union arguments haveconvinced the Government to do evenbetter than the European minimum.

This is a real gain for millions of people,who are not lucky enough to have anemployer that provides more than thelegal minimum.

Because employers can count publicholidays (like Christmas Day) as part ofsomeone’s paid holiday some workerswere left with as little as 12 days’ leave.The new rules will stop workers losingout.

In future, full-time workers will enjoy theEuropean minimum of four weeks’ paidholiday and also get days off equal to thenumber of public holidays – a furthereight days.

The new rules come in two stages addingfour days from 1 October 2007, with afurther four days added on 1 April 2009.

It is important to understand that this isnot an automatic right to take publicholidays as paid leave. If you had to workon Christmas Day before, you probablywill still have to. But it does mean thatyou will get an extra day off on top of theprevious minimum to make up forworking on a public holiday.

Those who work less than the traditionalfive full days a week enjoy these rights inproportion. The new rules are bestunderstood in the following way:

� From 1 October 2007 the legalminimum paid leave entitlement willincrease to 4.8 weeks per year.

� On 1 April 2009 there will be a furtherincrease to 5.6 weeks.

The minimum leave entitlement appliesto employees (including part-time andtemporary workers), most agency workersand freelancers and some self-employedpeople who are not really running abusiness, such as those who become self-employed for tax purposes. Although thisis the vast majority of people at work, ifyou have any doubts about your statusthen you should seek further advice.Places where you can get help are listedat the end of this booklet.

Scottish agricultural workers are coveredby separate rules and must already get atleast five weeks’ paid leave per year.

How many days leave will workers get?You can work out how many days off youshould get from 1 October 2007 bymultiplying the number of days you workeach week by 4.8.

So workers who are contracted to workfive days a week must get at least 24days off a year (5 x 4.8) including publicholidays.

If you are contracted to work three days aweek then your new leave entitlementwill be 14.4 days off a year (3 x 4.8).

From 1 April 2009, you multiply yourworking week by 5.6, so five-day-a-weekworkers will then enjoy 28 days.

If you currently work six days a week youshould already be entitled to 24 days. Thishowever will remain a maximumentitlement until 1 April 2009, so you willnot get an increase in your time off untilthen, when the maximum rises to 28days.

3

Who is entitledto paid annual leave?

Working out your leave entitlementWorking out the leave entitlement is avery simple calculation for those whoseleave year starts on 1 October.

But not everyone has their leavecalculated from October to October. If thenew rules come into force during yourleave year, you will still get a boost toyour minimum entitlement.

Your extra leave will depend on howmuch of your leave year falls after thechange date. If you have an April to Aprilleave year, for example, half your leaveyear falls after 1 October and thereforeyou will get half of your full extraentitlement. For a five-day-a-week workerthis would be an extra two days.

Those whose leave years start on 1January will get one quarter of the extraentitlement in the leave year that ends on31 December 2007, which gives them 4.2weeks, which is 21 days for a five-day-a-week worker (see ready-reckoner below).

There are no rules on how employersshould deal with part days, so they couldinsist that a worker takes, say 0.73 of aday’s leave.

However, the TUC’s strong advice is that it would be more sensible for anemployer simply to round up entitlementsto the nearest half-day. A cost of thesmall extra increase in entitlements islikely to be outweighed by the benefit ofhaving a simple system that is easy tounderstand and to monitor.

Leave year start 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–101 November 4.07 weeks 4.8 weeks 5.27 weeks 5.6 weeks1 December 4.13 weeks 4.8 weeks 5.33 weeks 5.6 weeks

2007 2008 2009 20101 January 4.2 weeks 4.8 weeks 5.4 weeks 5.6 weeks

2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 20101 February 4.27 weeks 4.8 weeks 5.47 weeks 5.6 weeks1 March 4.33 weeks 4.8 weeks 5.53 weeks 5.6 weeks1 April 4.4 weeks 4.8 weeks 5.6 weeks 5.6 weeks1 May 4.47 weeks 4.87 weeks 5.6 weeks 5.6 weeks1 June 4.53 weeks 4.93 weeks 5.6 weeks 5.6 weeks1 July 4.6 weeks 5 weeks 5.6 weeks 5.6 weeks1 August 4.67 weeks 5.07 weeks 5.6 weeks 5.6 weeks1 September 4.73 weeks 5.13 weeks 5.6 weeks 5.6 weeks1 October 4.8 weeks 5.2 weeks 5.6 weeks 5.6 weeks

Ready-reckoner for new leave rights (inclusive of public holidays)

Jobs with irregular work patternsIf you have a job without a regular workpattern, your entitlement is based onyour average contracted hours. This willinclude shift workers, term-time onlyworkers, casual workers and zero-hourscontract workers, plus those onannualised hours, four-and-a-half-dayweeks and nine-day fortnights.

It will probably be easier in these casesto work out your entitlement in hours.This means once you have worked outthe average hours you work each week,you multiply this by 4.8 and get ananswer in hours.

Can you carry any unused leavedays over into the next year?The existing four weeks’ entitlementmust be taken during the leave year.

However, workers will be allowed tocarry over just their increased leaveentitlement (for example, the extra four

days for a full-time worker) into the nextleave year, provided that there is a"relevant agreement" to that effect.

A ‘"relevant agreement" must be acollective bargaining agreement inworkplaces where there are unions.However, in non-union workplaces, itcan be a formal agreement withrepresentatives elected by theworkforce.

Can employers ‘buy back’ the newleave days?Employers are not allowed to buy backthe existing four weeks’ entitlement.

However, you can agree to give up yourextra holiday in return for some extrapay, but only until April 2009. After that,everyone must get their fullentitlement.

Employers who offer more than thelegal minimum will still be able to offerto buy back this extra leave.

Some useful facts about holidayentitlements� Your holiday rights start on the first day

of your job. You do not have to waitbefore you build up holiday rights.

� Public holidays can still count towardsyour minimum entitlement (unlessyour contract of employment saysotherwise). What has changed is thatyour minimum entitlement has goneup.

� The new rules do not create a right totake public holidays as time off, or to bepaid a premium rate for working onpublic holidays. However, most of us doactually get public holidays off becauseit is specified in our contracts.

� Holiday pay must be your normal rateof pay, excluding most overtimepayments. Irregular overtime does notcount, but if your contract stipulatesthat you must work a set amount ofovertime each week then this isincluded.

� Your employer can tell you when totake your leave or can rule out holidaysduring certain times of year (unlessyour contract of employment saysotherwise.)

� Unless your contract says otherwise,you should give your employer notice ofyour intention to take leave. This shouldbe at least twice as long as the holidaythat you want to take. For example, youshould give at least two weeks’ noticefor a one-week holiday.

� Employers must answer leave requestsat least as far in advance as the lengthof leave requested. For example, theymust answer a request for one week’sleave at least one week before the leaveis due to start.

� When you finish your job during theholiday year your employer must settleup your holiday entitlements. Forexample, if you leave half way throughthe year you will have been entitled tohalf of your normal holidayentitlement. You should get extra payfor any holiday you have not taken, butif you have taken more than yourentitlement then the employer maydeduct this overpayment from your paywhen you leave.

� As the result of cases brought by tradeunions, it is no longer legal for anemployer to ‘roll up’ holiday pay bypaying a little bit extra throughout theyear. Holiday pay must be paid whenthe holiday is actually taken.

� If you are on statutory maternity orpaternity leave you are still entitled topaid annual leave as well.

� However, it is not clear if you still earnpaid holidays while you are on sickleave. A trade union case has beenreferred to the European Courts todecide.

Thanks to Europe, we have hadminimum standards for rest breakssince 1998. Most people are entitled to:

� a break where the working day islonger than six hours

� a rest period of 11 hours every workingday

� a rest period of 24 hours once in everyseven days.

Following a successful legal casebrought by a trade union, employersnow have a duty to make sure that youcan take your breaks.

Who is entitled to rest breaks?The minimum rest break entitlementsapply to employees (including part-timeand temporary workers), most agencyworkers and freelancers and some self-employed people who are not reallyrunning a business, such as those whobecome self-employed for tax proposes.

However, there are differententitlements for young workers aged 16and 17, and for some transport workers -see below.

Restbreaks

In-work rest breaksIf a worker is required to work for morethan six hours at a stretch, they areentitled to a rest break of 20 minutes.

The break should be taken during thework period and not at the beginningor end of it.

"Compensatory rest" for missed breaks

There are also some important jobswhere rest breaks can be delayed:

� where continuous service is essential,such as hospitals, prisons, docks,airports, post and telecoms, civilprotection, agriculture and utilities

� where there are seasonal peaks, suchas tourism, postal services oragriculture

� security and surveillance work toprotect people or property

� where the worksite is a long wayfrom home

� mobile workers on trains

� when there is an accident or the riskof an accident.

However, employers must allow missedrest breaks to be taken within areasonable time period.

Special rules for young workers

Different rules apply to young workersaged 16 and 17. If a young worker isrequired to work for more than four-and-a-half hours at a stretch, they areentitled to a rest break of 30 minutes.

Special rules for mobile transportworkers

Mobile workers who are covered by theWorking Time Regulations (such as lightgoods vehicle and minibus drivers) areexcluded from the usual rest breakentitlements. Instead, these workers areentitled to ‘adequate rest’.

"Adequate rest" means that workershave regular rest periods. These shouldbe sufficiently long and continuous toensure that fatigue or other irregularworking patterns do not cause workersto injure themselves, fellow workers orothers, and that they do not damagetheir health.

Separate regulations that cover both

driving hours and general working timeapply to heavier vehicles such as coachesand articulated lorries that are fitted withtachographs.

A 45-minute break must be taken after4.5 hours driving. No driver must workmore than six hours without a break.Those working between six hours andnine hours per day must break for at least30 minutes, and those working morethan nine hours must take at least 45minutes’ break.

Daily rest breaksMost people are entitled to a rest periodof 11 uninterrupted hours between eachworking day.

Special rules for young workers

A young worker aged 16 or 17 is entitledto a rest period of 12 uninterrupted hoursin each 24-hour period in which theywork.

Compensatory rest for missed breaks

In certain circumstances breaks can bedelayed, as long as compensatory rest isgiven (see In-Work Rest Breaks section formore details).

Special rules for mobile workers

These workers are entitled to ‘adequaterest’ (see definition in section on In-WorkRest Breaks).

Special rules for the drivers of largevehicles

These drivers must get at least 11consecutive hours rest within the 24 hourperiod in question, calculated from themoment the driver commences work. Thismay be reduced to nine consecutivehours up to three times a week.Alternatively a split daily rest period canbe taken in two periods. The first periodmust be at least three hours, and thesecond at least nine hours.

Weekly rest breaks Most people are entitled to one wholeday off a week.

This can be averaged over a two-weekperiod, meaning that workers can taketwo days off a fortnight.

Special rules for young workers

Young workers aged 16 or 17 are entitledto two days off each week. This cannotbe averaged over a two-week period,and should normally be twoconsecutive days.

If the nature of the job makes itunavoidable, a young worker’s weeklytime off can be reduced to 36 hours,subject to them receivingcompensatory rest.

Compensatory rest for missed breaks

In certain circumstances breaks can bedelayed as long as compensatory rest isgiven (see section on In-Work RestBreaks for more details).

Special rules for mobile transportworkers

These workers are entitled to ‘adequaterest’ (see section on In-Work Rest Breaksfor more details).

Drivers of large vehicles

The weekly rest period is usually atleast 45 consecutive hours. However,this can be reduced to a minimum of 36consecutive hours if taken either wherethe vehicle is normally based or wherethe driver is based. If it is takenelsewhere it can be reduced to aminimum of 24 consecutive hours.

If weekly rest breaks are reduced, theymust be made up for by an equal periodof rest taken in one continuous periodbefore the end of the third week.

More help needed?Trade unions have worked hard toimprove your working time rights. Thebest way to ensure that you get all yourrights at work is to join a union. Forexample, the average trade unionmember gets six more days’ holidayentitlement than a non-member.

To find out more about joining a union,call the TUC know your rights line 0870 600 4882 or use the union finderat www.worksmart.org.uk

Other useful contacts� Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform website:

www.berr.gov.uk/employment/holidays/index.html

� ACAS (the Advice, conciliation and Arbitration service) helpline:Monday to Friday 8 am–6 pm: 08457 47 47 47

� Citizens Advice – Your local Citizens Advice Bureau is listed in your phone book, or visit www.citizensadvice.org.uk

The rights described in thisleaflet – and many others, suchas the minimum wage – havebeen won by union campaigning.Without union help andassistance many workers won’tget the full benefit of new rights to work.Every day unions help thousandsof people at work. For example,every year unions win on averageover £300m compensation fortheir members through legalaction.And of course unions helpnegotiate better pay andconditions, including far better

provisions for family-friendlyemployment than the legalminimums.To find out more about joining aunion call the TUC Know YourRights line on 0870 800 4 882.www.worksmart.org.uk is theone-stop site for everyone atwork. The website provides arange of information aboutworking life and your rights atwork – whether you are a unionmember or not. The full text ofthis leaflet, plus the whole rangeof rights materials, is on the site –just a click away.

Unions today –

your friend at work

Trades Union CongressCongress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LSTel: 020 7636 4030www.tuc.org.uk

Photography Simon W

eller;and John Harris,Paul Box and Jess Hurd all atww

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