The Working Time Regulations (WTR) entitle full-time employees and workers to 28-days/ 5.6 weeks of paid holiday per year.
In the UK this 28-day period is customarily broken down into 20 days as basic annual leave, with the remaining 8 days to be taken as bank holidays.
There is no requirement for these 8 days to be taken on bank holidays, but many employers put in their contracts that the days are to be taken on bank holidays as they would be closed anyway. If this is the case for you, then due to the late scheduling of Easter in 2025, any employers whose holiday year runs from April 2024 to March 2025 will find that their employees will only have taken 7 bank holidays.
If your employment contract states 28 days (or more), including bank holidays, or your holiday year is January to December this will not be a problem for you. If your employment contract states 20 days plus all bank holidays and your holiday year runs from April to March, then employees will only receive 27 holidays, in breach of the WTR.
In Conclusion
If affected, members should consider notifying affected employees and providing an extra holiday before 31 March 2025. The alternative would be to let sleeping dogs lie and risk a claim for unlawful deduction of wages should affected employees raise a complaint. That said, as the compensation should only be a single days pay, your business should consider which scenario would result in the least interruption.
As always, this advice is general in nature and will need to be tailored to any one situation. As an RMI member you have access to the RMI Legal advice line, as well as several industry experts for your assistance. Should you find yourself in the situation above, contact us at any stage for advice and assistance as appropriate.
Motor Industry Legal Services
Motor Industry Legal Services (MILS Solicitors) provides fully comprehensive legal advice and representation to UK motor retailers for one annual fee. It is the only law firm in the UK which specialises in motor law and motor trade law. MILS currently advises over 1,000 individual businesses within the sector as well as the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI) and its members.
