Labour Research (November 2001)

Features: Health & Safety Matters

Leave improved

Workers with contracts of less than three months now have the right to paid holidays in line with the provisions in the Working Time Regulations. Under the regulations every worker has to have at least 20 days' paid holiday a year.

This means that a worker with a three-month contract should have at least five days' paid holiday.

The change has been brought about after the European Court of Justice ruled that the UK exclusion of workers on short contracts was unlawful. In future leave will accrue month by month in the first year of employment.


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