What do I write in my contract for casual workers about holiday pay?
Workers (even casual workers who only work sporadic shifts) are entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid holiday each year.
For workers on atypical work patterns, it is difficult to calculate holidays. The relevant regulations do not set out any method of calculating how many days or hours constitute a week's leave in such circumstances, and none is suggested in any reported case law.
It is difficult in any meaningful way to set out in the contract the holiday entitlement for a casual worker or employee, especially as the “percentage method” of calculating holiday as 12.07% of hours workers is no longer fit for purpose after the case of Brazel in 2022.
Attempting to include detailed calculations in a contractual document can potentially lead to problems, because of frequent case law developments on calculating holiday pay.
So you may therefore prefer to set out some of the detail in a non-contractual holiday policy, or simply refer to the formula in the Working Time Regulations 1998 as a means of calculation.
Although this carries a risk of a technical breach of the requirements to set out holiday entitlement in the employment contract, there are no reported cases on the interpretation of the level of detail required on holidays.
So you may want to say in your contract “You are entitled to the equivalent of 5.6 weeks' paid holiday per holiday year (which is the minimum required entitlement for any worker). This includes public holidays in England and Wales. Your holiday entitlement will be calculated in accordance with the formula in the Working Time Regulations 1998 and with the latest UK government guidance on how to calculate holiday entitlement for casual workers.”
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