Summary of the editorial from IDS Pay Report 982, August 2007

UK still bottom of EU-wide league table on holiday entitlement

The recent legislation on statutory holiday entitlement is likely to have little impact on the large number of employers who already offer 20 days’ leave plus bank holidays. And for those it does affect, the phasing-in of the changes will help soften the blow.

Under the regulations, the minimum annual leave entitlement for all employees will rise to 28 days, from the current 20 days, in two stages. The first stage will take effect from October this year, with the statutory minimum rising to 24 days. The second stage will not kick in until 18 months after that, on 1 April 2009.

Bank holidays included in new minimum

The main aim of the legislation is to prevent the practice of including the current eight bank holidays in the minimum annual holiday entitlement, thereby effectively giving employees just 12 days’ annual leave, excluding the public holidays. However even after the changes are in place, the UK will still be joint bottom – along with the Netherlands – of the European ‘league table’ for holiday entitlement.

... the full editorial can be read in IDS Pay Report 982