In the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Harpur Trust v Brazel case, it was acknowledged that the Working Time Regulations 1998 take a more generous approach to holiday entitlement for part-year workers than European Union Law would have required, and that in some situations this could result in a part-year worker being entitled to a more generous holiday entitlement than a full-time worker. It was also acknowledged that there was no obligation for full-time workers to be treated more (or indeed, less) favourably than part-year workers. However, the prospect of a part-year worker being disproportionately advantaged was viewed as unusual and therefore unlikely to impact many employers.

Following the ruling, employers have been amending their holiday pay arrangements for their part-year workers, and in some cases this has included making contractual changes to reflect the current legal requirements.  

Full response to consultation