Update to annual leave calculations

In February 2023 Oxfordshire County Council implemented the Supreme Court ruling which changed the way annual leave was calculated for part year, part time workers. The ruling determined holiday pay for employees who only work part of the year, such as term time workers, should get a full 5.6 weeks annual leave a year, rather than be paid pro rata to the number of weeks worked. We advised that this ruling was subject to a government consultation on Working Time Regulations which was due to end in March 2023 and could be amended.

The outcome of the consultation has been published and following this the government has introduced new regulations in this area, namely the (Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023), which came into effect for annual leave periods commencing on or after 1 April 2024. While this does mean that employees paid on grades 1-6 working fewer than 39 weeks with less than five years’ service, will have their leave entitlement recalculated, Oxfordshire County Council has agreed the change will not be implemented until 1 September 2024. 

For example, someone working 38 weeks per year, would currently be paid 43.6 weeks. From 1 September this will reduce to 43.5 weeks. Note: We have been advised by the IBC that some working weeks were showing as 38.09, these have now been corrected to 38 weeks. 

ACTION: Letters to staff We wrote to all head teachers at the end of term, asking you to let those members of staff who are affected know about this change. If you haven’t sent out the letter to those affected, please do that as soon as possible using the template letter attached. (PDF,17kb)

There is also a question and answer sheet is attached (28kb), containing more details.

ACTION: Budget Planning System (BPS) Once you’ve completed your August payroll reconciliation, you should update BPS for any members of staff affected by the decrease in paid weeks. Use the information in the ‘Paid Weeks’ column of the IBC ‘Staff Costs’ report (right hand section) and compare this to the employee’s record in your latest BPS employee scenario.