09
Dec
All employees, whether they are full-time, part-time, temporary or casual, earn annual leave entitlements from the time they start work. Most employees are entitled to four weeks’ paid annual leave per leave year, although an employee’s contract could give greater rights.
Calculating Annual Leave
Under Section 19 (1) of The Organisation of Working Time Act, you are entitled to a basic annual paid leave entitlement of 4 weeks. There are 3 different ways of calculating your annual leave entitlement:
- Based on the employee’s working hours during in a leave year. An employee who has worked at least 1,365 hours in a leave year is entitled to the maximum of 4 working weeks’ paid annual leave unless it is a leave year in which they change employment.
- By allowing 1/3 of a working week for each calendar month in which the employee has worked at least 117 hours
- 8% of the hours worked in the leave year, subject to a maximum of 4 working weeks
If more than one of the preceding methods at (1), (2) or (3) above is applicable, the employee shall be entitled to whichever method provides the greater entitlement. However the maximum statutory annual leave entitlement of an employee in a leave year is four of his/her normal working weeks.
When calculating the entitlement, employers should include all hours worked including time spent on annual leave, maternity leave, parental leave, force majeure leave, adoptive leave or the first 13 weeks of carer’s leave.
An employee who has worked for at least 8 months is entitled to an unbroken period of 2 weeks’ annual leave.
Part-time work: Generally, the annual leave for part-time workers is calculated using the 3rd method, that is, 8% of hours worked. If you work full time for some months and the rest of the year you work part time, you should calculate the leave for the full-time and the part-time periods of work separately.
When can Annual Leave be taken
It is for your employer to decide when annual leave may be taken, but this is subject to a number of conditions. Your employer must take into account your family responsibilities, opportunities for rest and recreation that are available to you and to consult with you (or your union) at least one month before the leave is to be taken. In addition, annual leave should be taken within the appropriate leave year or with your consent, within 6 months of the relevant leave year. Further holding over (also known as carrying-over) of annual leave at your wish is a matter for agreement between you and your employer.
An employee who has worked for at least 8 months is entitled to an unbroken period of 2 weeks’ annual leave.
Annual leave and sick leave
If you are ill while you are on annual leave, you should get a medical certificate from your family doctor (GP) as soon as possible to cover the days that you were sick and give this to your employer as soon as you return to work. In this way, the sick days will not count as annual leave and will be available to you at a later date. An employer cannot require you to take annual leave for a certified period of illness.
From 1st August 2015, workers can accrue annual leave when they are on long term sick leave. This means –
- Statutory annual leave entitlement accrues during a period of certified sick leave.
- An annual leave carryover period of 15 months after a leave year will apply to those employees who could not, due to illness, take annual leave during the relevant leave year or during the normal carryover period of 6 months.
- On termination of employment, payment in lieu of untaken accrued annual leave will apply to leave which was untaken as a result of illness in circumstances where the employee leaves the employment within a period of 15 months following the end of the leave year during which the statutory leave entitlement accrued.
Annual leave and other leave
Annual leave is not affected by other leave provided for by law. Time spent on maternity leave, adoptive leave, parental leave, force majeure leave and the first 13 weeks of carer’s leave is treated as though you have been in employment and this time can be used to accumulate annual leave entitlement.
Annual leave and leaving employment
It is illegal under the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 for an employer to pay an allowance in lieu of the minimum statutory holiday entitlement of an employee unless the employment relationship is terminated. In general, your annual leave is calculated on the basis of hours worked.
If you are leaving a job you are entitled to receive payment for any outstanding annual leave and public holidays due to you.