2021 is coming to an end. With 2022 just around the corner, businesses are already preparing for the new year. At this busy time of the year, as we prepare for the festive period, it’s important to begin preparing to reset your annual leave calendar.
In doing this, remember that your employees are entitled to receive their statutory annual leave entitlements before the end of the year. In Northern Ireland, the statutory minimum for a full-time employee is 28 days.
You must also provide any other discretionary leave entitlements written in your contract of employment over and above the statutory minimum.
To ensure you’re prepared, let’s look at some annual leave issues that tend to come up at the turn of the year.
Have you complied with festive holiday entitlements?
Time off over Christmas can depend on a business’s operational needs.
The festive period is made up of three public holidays:
- Christmas Day
- Boxing Day
- New Year’s Day
The Christmas period is a busy one for almost all businesses. That means employees could be asked to work the public holidays, especially in the retail and hospitality sectors. If you intend to ask your employees to do likewise, public holiday entitlement rules need to be met.
Employees who work public holidays must receive payment for the day that they work and time off in lieu for working the holiday. You may insist that this is taken within the month following the public holiday, rather than allowing time in lieu to build up.
Balances and carryover
It’s common for an employment contract to specify that the annual leave year runs from January to December. Sometimes it’s the case that the leave year runs concurrently with the tax year of April to March. Within that period, employees could build up unused annual leave. If that happens, let them know how they can use their remaining entitlement.
Carrying over annual leave can result in a build-up of holidays the following year, making it difficult for employers to balance holidays and get adequate cover. Therefore, while there may be exceptions, this would not be best practice. As an alternative option, you could provide payment for unused discretionary annual leave entitlements.
In the case you allow employees to carry over holidays into the next annual leave year, remember to update your 2022 annual leave balances.
Need more information on annual leave carryover?
For further advice on annual leave carryover, speak to one of our expert advisors now on 0800 917 0771.
