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National Minimum Wage Entitlement

By law, your employer must pay a minimum amount on average for the hours you work. This is called the:

• National Living Wage (NLW) if you're aged 23 or over
• National Minimum Wage (NMW) if you're aged under 23 or an apprentice

Holiday Entitlement

Almost all workers are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday a year (known as statutory leave entitlement or annual leave). This includes agency workers, workers with irregular hours and workers on zero-hours contracts.

An employer can include bank holidays as part of statutory annual leave.

Limits on statutory leave

Statutory paid holiday entitlement is limited to 28 days. For example, staff working 6 days a week are only entitled to 28 days’ paid holiday.

Bank holidays

Bank or public holidays do not have to be given as paid leave. An employer can choose to include bank holidays as part of a worker’s statutory annual leave.
e.g. In the UK we get as a minimum 20 days holiday per year and normally +8 days for national holidays (often referred to as bank holidays).

Working part-time

Part-time workers are entitled to at least 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday, but this will amount to fewer than 28 days.

For example, if they work 3 days a week, they must get at least 16.8 days’ leave a year (3 × 5.6).

Working irregular hours

People working irregular hours (like shift workers or term-time workers) are entitled to paid time off for every hour they work.

They can use the following website to estimate their holiday entitlement:

https://www.gov.uk/calculate-your-holiday-entitlement

Other aspects of holiday entitlement

• Maternity leave
• Paternity leave
• Sick leave

Maximum weekly working hours

You can’t work more than 48 hours a week on average - normally averaged over 17 weeks. This law is sometimes called the ‘working time directive’ or ‘working time regulations’.

If you’re under 18, you can’t work more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week.

If you have more than one job, your combined working hours shouldn’t be more than 48 hours a week on average. If you work more than 48 hours on average, you can either 1) sign an opt-out agreement or 2) reduce your hours to meet the 48-hour limit.

Opting out of the 48 hour week

You can choose to work more than 48 hours a week on average if you’re over 18. This is called ‘opting out’. You may have to work more than 48 hours a week on average if you work in a job:

• where 24-hour staffing is required
• in the armed forces, emergency services or police
• in security and surveillance
• as a domestic servant in a private household
• as a seafarer, sea-fisherman or worker on vessels on inland waterways
• where working time is not measured and you’re in control, eg you’re a managing executive with control over your decisions

Your employer can ask you to opt out, but you can’t be sacked or treated unfairly for refusing to do so. You can opt out for a certain period or indefinitely. It must be voluntary and in writing.  Some workers can’t opt out of the 48 hour week, such as

• airline staff
• a worker on ships or boats
• a worker in the road transport industry, eg delivery drivers (except for drivers of vehicles under 3.5 tonnes using GB Domestic drivers’ hours rules)
• other staff who travel in and operate vehicles covered by EU rules on drivers’ hours, eg bus conductors
• a security guard on a vehicle carrying high-value goods

Get Help from Acas

Acas is an independent public body that receives funding from the government. It provides free and impartial advice to employers, employees and their representatives on: employment rights, best practice and policies and resolving workplace conflict.

Acas helpline

Telephone: 0300 123 1100

Textphone: 18001 0300 123 1100

Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm

https://www.acas.org.uk/