PART 1: DATES, DEFINITIONS AND OBLIGATIONS
48-hour rule Workers should not work more than 48 hours per week, over a 17-week period, though this may be averaged over a period up to 12 months. Workers have the right to opt-out of this provision by written agreement with the employer or through an elected representative. COPYRIGHT © 2021 THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF PAYROLL PROFESSIONALS The removal of this option has been under debate in the European Parliament for many years but remains a cornerstone of the UKs approach to working time. Minimum rest period Each worker must have eleven consecutive hours rest in every 24 hours, and where the working day is greater than six hours there must be a break of at least 20 minutes. Night workers They must average eight hours rest in 24 hours over the averaging period of 17 weeks, although this can be extended with the agreement of the employees affected. All employees have the right to health assessments, and from 6th April 2003, all overtime (previously only guaranteed overtime) is included in the average night working limits. Holidays Until October 2007 employees were entitled annually to four weeks’ (20 days) paid holiday including bank holidays (three weeks up to 1998). In the first year of service entitlement accrues pro-rata, in advance, for each completed month, or part month, of service rounded up to the nearest half day. Annual leave must be taken during the year and cannot be paid in lieu, except on termination of employment. This includes at the end of maternity leave where leave must be taken, it cannot be paid as holiday-in-lieu pay. From October 2007 entitlement increased to 24 days and then as part of the move to include bank holidays in the total by increasing the entitlement to 28 days from April 2009. The extra 8 days are to be known as ‘additional leave’ and can be carried over to the following holiday year with the employer’s consent. No statutory or additional leave may be bought out except on termination. The requirement to round up to the nearest full or half day was abolished in 2009 except in determining the amount of accrued holiday that is available to take in year one. Rolled Up Holiday Pay (RHP) An employee is entitled to a minimum of 28 days holiday pay (increased from October 2007 and April 2009 see above) to physically take time away from work. Prior to a ruling in March 2006 in the European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially referred to as the Court of Justice, it was commonplace for those employing casual employees where the nature of their work made it difficult to ‘take’ holiday, to ‘roll up’ the value of the holiday pay and add it to basic pay throughout the year. At the time of the ruling BEIS (DTI as it was then) published a statement to the effect that the practice of rolling up could continue whilst contracts were amended, but that employers should be moving to a system that allowed casual employees to ‘take’ holiday. No employees should any longer be in receipt of RHP although there are no easy alternatives that employers No printing, copying or r productio permitted. In Northern Ireland the entitlement will also be to 28 days from April 2009 even though there are ten bank holidays in the province.
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