Q&As

Does an employee who has taken unpaid leave accrue holiday entitlement during that period; and do periods of unpaid leave or long-term sickness absence affect the amount of holiday pay an employee should receive?

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Published by a LexisNexis Employment expert

Published on: 08 September 2017

The right under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR 1998) is to a total of 5.6 weeks' annual leave each 'leave year', made up of:

•
a basic entitlement to a minimum of four weeks' annual leave (20 days for a regular full-time worker) each leave year, implementing the right to annual leave under the Working Time Directive
•
an additional entitlement to 1.6 weeks' annual leave (eight days for a regular full-time worker) each leave year, which is a right under domestic legislation only

For further information, see Practice Note: Holiday — Statutory holiday entitlement.

The right to annual leave under WTR 1998 is a right to paid leave (see below for further observations in this regard).

If (which seems likely in the case of a day here and there as unpaid leave) the contract continues during those days of unpaid leave, the Employee will continue

Jurisdiction(s):

United Kingdom

Key definition:

Employee definition

What does Employee mean?

Persons satisfying case law tests for employee status qualify for the broadest scope of employment protections. Statutory definitions of employee vary. The Employment Rights Act 1996 defines employee as an individual who has entered into or works under (or, where the employment has ceased, worked under) a contract of employment.