Holiday and Employee’s Notice Period
by Liam
This case is a reminder that it is possible to vary some parts of the Working Time Regulations 1998 (which provide for, amoungst other things, entitlement to holidays and holiday pay) by means of a “Relevant Agreement”. This can include a contract of employment.
The working time regulations provide for the employer to give the employee notice that he is to take a holiday of double the duration of the holiday. For example, four days’ holiday requires eight days’ notice.
This means that if an employee has a one week notice period and has four days’ holiday remaining, the employer would not, under the WTR, be able to require the employee to take that holiday in their notice period. This would leave the employer paying the employee notice pay in his notice period and accrued holiday pay on termination.
However, where a contract gives an employer the right to insist on an employee taking their accrued holiday entitlement in their notice period, this does not fall foul of the Working Time Regulations because the contract is a Relevant Agreement that overides the WTR (and does not have to follow the normal rules about contracting out of statutes and compromise agreements that apply to many employment statutes).
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