Annual leave: UK employment law

Essential points

• The minimum holiday entitlement that an employer must provide to a full-time worker is 28 days a year (or 5.6 weeks). 
• The 28 days is split between 20 days ‘Euro leave’, which stems from the European Working Time Directive (and was subsequently codified into the UK’s Working Time Regulations). There are an additional eight days of ‘UK leave’ granted by the Working Time Regulations. These reflect the eight statutory and bank holidays in the UK, although the leave does not necessarily have to be taken on those dates if the employer prefers it to be taken at another time.  
• Statutory holiday entitlement applies to all workers covered by the Working Time Regulations 1998. These regulations include agency workers, plus irregular hours and part-year workers. 
• Employers must ensure that workers receive their normal pay when on Euro leave. ‘Normal pay’ means accounting for commission, overtime, bonuses and other allowances. The position in relation to UK leave is slightly more complicated. This is explained in more detail below.
• In the UK, employment law is either set by the UK Government or devolved. In Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) law is largely a reserved matter, developed by the UK Government. In Northern Ireland most areas of employment law are devolved (transferred) however some matters are not. The CIPD offers a resource on employment law in Northern Ireland.