Partner Article

Quarter of employees 'could be missing out on leave'

21% of British full-time workers could be danger of not getting the holidays they are entitled.

In a YouGov survey of 2,114 adults commissioned by workplace consultancy Croner, nearly a quarter of full-time workers said that they were entitled to less than 27 days holiday per year including bank holidays.

Bosses of the 6% of full-time workers that are currently giving their staff less than 24 days could find themselves in hot water as the current statutory minimum is 24 days. That allowance increased on 1 April to 28 days, so a further 16% of employers of full time workers surveyed will be failing to meet their legal obligations if they do not increase that entitlement.

Gillian Dowling, employment technical consultant at Croner, said: “Money and holidays are often the key motivators when searching for a job and are an essential part of an employment contract. At the moment it seems not everyone is aware of their rights. The real danger for employers is when their staff become more switched on. If they haven’t asked already for the extra holiday, they will do soon.”

In most circumstances it is a lack of HR knowledge, particularly among small business owners who don’t have a HR professional on board that has led to this discrepancy.

Ms Dowling said: “Since the Government first brought in the legislation to increase the statutory minimum holiday entitlement in 2007, there has been lots of guidance and information for businesses available through the media and the internet. However, if you are a small business owner without internal or external support such as a specialist HR person or a trade association, then it is very likely that they may not know about it.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .