Bank Holidays and Part Time Workers

July 2010: Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, all workers have the right to 5.6 weeks paid holiday per annum including bank holidays. For someone working Monday to Friday, this equates to 28 days a year including bank holidays. For a part timer, take the number of days worked per week, and multiply that by 5.6. For example, someone working a 3 day week will be entitled to 16.8 days paid holiday per annum including any bank holidays.

If you calculate holiday entitlement for part timers as 5.6 weeks including bank holiday days, whether or not someone actually works a Monday should make no difference to their overall entitlement.

In McMenemy v Capita Business Services Ltd 2006 the EAT had to consider whether part-time employees who do not work on Mondays are entitled to a pro rata apportionment of extra time off in respect of Bank Holidays which always fall on a Monday. Mr McMenemy brought a claim under the Part Time Workers Regs. As it happened though, Capita carried on seven days a week (rather than the normal Monday to Friday). The EAT agreed that Mr McMenemy was worse off, but said it was nothing to do with his being a part timer as such and on the facts full-timers who worked five days a week excluding Mondays also did not receive time off for those Bank Holidays.

In other words the decision does not help the majority of organisations whose working week is Monday to Friday. One approach to this:

• ·         Calculate the total number of days holiday a full-timer gets including public holidays (ie 20 contractual days plus 8 bank holidays = 28 days)
• ·         Then calculate the pro rata entitlement for part-timers (ie 60% of 28 days = 17 days)
• ·         Notify the part timer of his/her total paid holiday including public holidays (ie 17)
• ·         Inform the part timer that if his normal working day is a bank holiday, he must take a days leave on that date, otherwise he can choose when to take it.

In this manner (arguably) a part timer is no better or worse off than a full timer, and a part timer who happens to work Mondays does not cash in compared to someone who does not work Mondays.