Bank Holiday Entitlement

angela1711

Hi,

I work part-time most of the time. I would say 90% of the year I work less than 40 hours a week. It is mostly 24 hours but I have been working 32-hour weeks for the last 2-3 months. The company’s account says that I am entitled to 12 days of annual leave a year and that bank holidays are included in those days. (that a 1/3 of a day is added to my annual leave until it totals 12 days or something like that?)

They don’t normally pay me for bank holidays. I am just wondering if this is right. I went to the citizen information website but I do find the advice a bit confusing. So, to give you an example, last Monday was a bank holiday- I would have worked Monday if it wasn’t a holiday, worked 8 hours on Tuesday, 8 hours on Wednesday, 4 hours on Thursday, and 8 hours on Friday- a total of 28 hours. The week previous to that I worked for 40 hours. And have done 32-hour weeks for between 8-12 weeks before that can’t exactly remember for how long on the spot. 

Since the beginning of this year, I am working Mon-Fri, it used to be 9-1 but I have been recently doing more hours, might do 3 full days and 2 half days etc.

Would appreciate it if someone could shed a bit of light on this. Thanks.

countyireland12345

I think you will need to have a word with your employer. Annual leave is entirely separate from public holidays of which there are 10. The best way to calculate statutory leave for part time employees whose weekly hours vary is to multiply hours worked by 8%, subject to a max of 4 weeks/20 working days. Public holidays - for part time employees, you are essentially entitled to a paid day off (on the day itself or an alternative, or pay in lieu) if you have worked 40 hours in the preceding 5 weeks and normally work Mondays. How long have you worked there? You could be owed quite a bit.

angela1711

Thanks for your reply, I have been working for this company for 6 years. So do you reckon I should be getting paid for the full 8 hours if I have worked 40 hours total in the preceding 5 weeks? Monday was not always my usual working day in all the 6 years I have been here but this year I have been working every Monday apart from the odd sick day etc. I am going to speak to the account again but want to get the full picture first. Who do you recommend I should contact so that I can say I got advice from a reputable source? Citizens information? Work relations commission? A solicitor specializing in employment law would be obvious but I don't want to go that route if it can be avoided and I doubt they will give me the information for free 😅.

I did get paid for some of the bank holidays throughout my time here but definitely not for all of them. And I can not understand how I always have 12 days of annual leave each year when I don't always work 3 days a week. But the account just keeps saying that's all you get working part-time. She told me that I am entitled to a 1/3 of the bank holiday which I think she adds to my total annual leave but yet the number of days I am allowed to take off always remains at 12 no matter how many hours I actually work in a year. When I went to enquire about it once again today I was told the above and when she could not explain it any better she then told me "when you work part time and there is a bank holiday all you get paid is the days you worked in that week".

countyireland12345

My level of knowledge is fairly general and your situation sounds complex enough. Best thing would be to give Citizens Information a ring and explain and see what they advise in terms of next steps. Could you email your employer and ask them to provide written confirmation on their annual leave policy and bank holiday pay for part time employees? Ask them to also provide written confirmation that they have paid you in accordance with all relevant legislation. If Citizens Information think otherwise, ask employer to review and recifify the situation, if they don't look in WRC etc. Someone else might have better advice, mine is very much just general.

Mrs OBumble

Ring Workplave Relations.

Citizens Information are great in simple situations- but this isn't one.

I think your accountant has gone for a simply solution, but doesn't know the law at all.

angela1711

Thanks for your replies. I will call WRC tomorrow and see if they can shed some light on the situation. I just want to know if they made a mistake and if they did I hope they can rectify it. I used to work full time in the first year or perhaps two of my employment with this company but after that I went part time and now I pretty much do whatever many hours I want to. My job is very much task related so as long as I complete whatever I need to do they don’t really mind what days/hours I work. I have known our accountant for a number of years and I could just see today that she had not a clue what she was talking about when she tried to explain my leave/bank holidays entitlements so that’s what got me thinking that something isn’t right here

angela1711

Update- phoned WRC this morning and was told pretty much what you guys have said here. They advised me to calculate all hours worked in a given year and get 8% of that to see the amount of annual leave I should have been entitled to. Will sit down and do that this evening. They also said I should be paid full amount for bank holidays or else be entitled to a full paid day off. Thanks for your help. I will speak to our accountant tomorrow and see what they are going to say.

Mrs OBumble

I'd talk to the manager or owner before the accountant: get them onside first.