Six-month wait on holiday entitlement for irregular hours staff goes on

15-Sep-2023 - Last updated on 15-Sep-2023 at 10:25 GMT

Confused: less than half (47%) of sector staff on irregular work patterns are confident they are receiving all their holiday (credit: Getty/Kobus Louw)

Staff members who work part-year and irregular hours in the hospitality sector are still waiting to find out what their holiday entitlements are despite a Government consultation ending more than six months ago.

New research has shown more than a third (35%) of hospitality workers are not sure about their legal entitlement for paid annual leave and many believe they could be missing out on holiday pay.

What’s more, the study revealed 26% of UK hospitality workers are not clear on the details of their legal entitlements for paid annual leave and 9% have no idea at all. Less than half (47%) were very confident they are getting all the paid annual leave they are entitled to, with 35% less confident, 10% unsure, 4% not confident at all and 4% believing they’re not entitled to any paid leave.

Also, many young workers were completely unaware of their holiday pay entitlements, with 14% of Gen Z workers believing they’re not entitled to any paid annual leave.

Awaiting results on two consultations

The Government-issued ‘Calculating holiday entitlement for part-year and irregular hours workers’ consultation ran from 12 January 2023 to 9 March 2023 while another consultation titled ‘Retained EU Employment Law’ – which sought views on creating a single annual leave entitlement of 5.6 weeks and introducing ‘rolled-up’ holiday pay – ran between 12 May 2023 and 7 July 2023.

However, the results of both studies have not been published by the Government.

A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: “Both these consultations will help simplify and address concerns about the calculation of holiday entitlement making things easier and clearer for part-time and irregular hours workers.

“We are currently reviewing the responses and we will publish a joint response to both consultations soon.”

Lack of clarity

Staff rota software business Deputy, which compiled the research above in its State of Shift Work report, said: “Six months since the consultation on calculating holiday entitlement for part-year and irregular hours workers closed, the Government has yet to publish its response.

“Amid this lack of clarity, new data shows high levels of confusion among employees when it comes to holiday pay.”

Jon Wilson, senior vice-president SVP at Deputy, said: “The practical implementation of this has been challenging for employers across the country, especially when calculating holiday pay for new starters and those with highly irregular hours.

“We urgently need clarity from the Government for the sake of both workers and employers.”