Converting Employees' Surplus Annual Leave into Pay

It is not prevented - it is just not allowed for in the Working Time Directive.

If HR are correct, that means you are only allocated 4 weeks holiday a year. If that's the case, you have no option but to take it - you MUST take at least 4 weeks paid holiday per year. HR can't pay you for working it, and you can't opt out of it. You must take it. If HR want to do things legally, you have no option but to abandon the contracts until you have taken the full 4 weeks.

The alternative is that you have more than 4 weeks a year, in which case, you still have to take off at least 4 weeks a year, but beyond that, HR have the option of carrying it over, paying you in lieu, or whatever they like.

The same happened to me at my last job - after agreeing to carry over 3 weeks of holidays to the next year, my boss came back just under 3 weeks before year end and told me that HR had said he wasn't allowed to do that. After a brief discussion, I left work early and returned in the new year. He was not impressed.

Which types of job must have 4 weeks of annual leave by law? Or do some employers get round this by deciding that one week must be taken on certain days ie bank holidays?

I believe that the four weeks includes the 8 Bank Holidays in England

- ie the employee should have 12 more days annual leave which must be taken during the year.

You believe wrong I'm afraid. Bank Holidays don't have that kind of status in employment law, they are given by an employer at its option.

Francis

Sorry - yes I agree - you do not have the right to the 8 bank holidays. However, if you are given the 8 bank holidays (as I think most people are in England) then they are included in the count for the twenty - ie you need to take twelve more days of annual leave as a minimum.

In some parts of the country it is traditional to take an extra day's holiday after a bank holiday, and so offices and works are closed on that day. That leaves less than 12 days to be taken at one's pleasure.

Sheffield and the West Midlands, for example, usually take an extra day at Easter, Whitsuntide (as was), August and Christmas.

IIRC there's no requirement in the WTD that *any* of the 20 days can be chosen by the employee. The employer could choose them all I believe.

Nope - I think the only opt out is the 48 hour week.

Yes.

Yes, probably.

All I think. See:

They don't get round it - they must give 4 weeks leave (or equivalent - ie 20 days for someone who works 5 days a week, 12 days for someone who works 3 days a week). But the employer can choose some/all of the days.

Whilst there is no mechanism for staff to 'agree' not to take their holidays, there is also no mechanism to force them to do so. In reality, staff *can* opt out their holiday allowance simply by not taking them.

tim

Schools for example?

Yup. And factories which close for a couple of weeks in the summer and over Christmas.

you missed the point he doesnt actually want to take holiday at the moment! I agree with dave, screw 'em, just book the holiday and all of a sudden he'll find the rules are relaxed or some informal arrangement is reached. best to book a nice long block so its really inconvenient and causes maximum pressure.

At 07:39:37 on 12/11/2005, Mr Scummy delighted uk.finance by announcing:

No. Ours used to do it and stopped because of financial reasons.

At 12:53:18 on 12/11/2005, Mr Scummy delighted uk.finance by announcing:

No. It's against the Regs to make payment in lieu for the minimum entitlement. Anything over that is fine.

Agreed. The missus used to work for Transco, which had leave years based on individuals birthday rather than one fixed company leave year.

Staff members could carry over either 5 or 10 (can't remember and she doesn't work there) days a year+ lieu days earned from flexi time. It is possible.

Almost certainly not.

My employer is planning to introduce a "flexible benefits" scheme from next January, one feature of which is to allow employees to sell back unused holiday days to the company, or buy additional days (up to a maximum of 5 either way).

Andreas.