Holidays/ Annual Leave

What are your worker's holiday entitlements?

Everyone loves a holiday and the benefits of them to a business through increased productivity are obvious . However, small businesses can suffer more than most from people being away from work so it is important that there is a clear and transparent system in place to allocate holiday in accordance with people’s contracts but also in the interests of the business.

Most workers - whether part-time or full-time - are legally entitled paid annual leave. These rules are changing however, and the Government plans to increase the annual leave entitlement from 1 April 2009, please see the official ACAS website for more information.

The most important consideration for all businesses, big or small, is to make sure that leave entitlements are within the law but are also explicitly set out in the employee’s contract. This will avoid any misunderstandings or disputes which could have a negative impact on morale in the organisation or business.

For more information see the Holidays advice leaflet on the ACAS website http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=806