Part-Time Holiday Entitlements
While it's not mandatory to offer bank holidays as paid leave, many UK businesses include them in their part-time employees' annual leave allowance. However,
calculating bank holiday entitlements accurately is vital to ensure parity between part-time and full-time workers.
Pro Rata Bank Holiday Calculation
For part-time staff, a pro rata calculation based on the standard 5.6 weeks of annual leave applies. Let's simplify this with an example: if an employee works two days a week, they're entitled to 11.2 days of holiday, while a three-day-a-week worker gets 16.8 days. Typically, part-days are rounded up to facilitate easier allocation.
Bank Holidays and Part-Time Work
Most
UK bank holidays fall on Mondays or Fridays. While full-time employees often receive these days as paid leave, part-time workers might face discrepancies if they don't typically work those days. To address this, companies often offer a pro-rata bank holiday allowance based on hours worked, regardless of regular working days or holidays.
Calculating Bank Holiday Entitlement for Part-Time Staff
Let's consider a scenario: a company grants eight bank holidays to full-time employees (equivalent to 64 hours). For a part-time employee working two days a week (16 hours), the bank holiday allowance would be 25.6 hours. Calculated by the formula: (16 hours worked per week / 40 hours maximum working time per week) x (64 hours of bank holiday leave).
Handling Part-Day Scenarios
Should a part-time employee work only part of a day, rounding up the entitlement is common practice. For instance, 25.6 hours would be rounded to 26 hours or approximately three and a quarter days for an eight-hour workday.
Bank Holiday Booking for Part-Time Workers
If a part-time employee is scheduled to
work on a bank holiday, they'd need to book it as a holiday, deducted from their total holiday entitlement.
Understanding and accurately calculating bank holiday entitlements for part-time staff is pivotal.
Bank Holidays, an Employer’s Guide is a helpful read. Following the right bank holiday booking process ensures fair treatment, legal compliance, and an equitable holiday allocation, contributing to a harmonious work environment.
To save time and avoid manual processes, many SMEs choose to use online platforms such as
WorkSmarter, with powerful features that automatically calculate time off and can adapt to individual policies and employee situations.
Contact us today and one of our specialist advisers will discuss your holiday management requirements and give you a tour of WorkSmarter’s advanced platform.
