Holiday entitlement for 3.5 month nanny contract

[ApuskiDusky]

Hi there, I've posted before about finding a nanny for 3.5 months, the good news is I've found one, so I'm now sorting out her contract.

I'm struggling to get my head around holiday entitlement and how bank holiday entitlement fits into this. According to the Business Link tool, she is entitled to 4.69 days of holiday in this time - but this seems to be calculated against the whole of the year and therefore includes bank holidays. There are no bank holidays that fall during the contract period, either on her working days (3 days a week) or on the days she doesn't work.

Does all that mean that the 4.69 days is correct? As an employee, I am used to thinking about my holiday entitlement for FT as 25 days a year, so just over 2 days a month, with any bank holidays on top - and if there aren't any BHs in a short term contract then I don't get any.

Help, I am confused!

I am assuming that she will be working 5 days per week. Therefore annual entitlement minimum is 28 days inclusive of bank holidays. So calculation would be:-

28 \ 12 = 2.33333

2.33333 x 3.5 = 8.166

You can not round down so the easiest thing would be to round up to 8.5days.

As I understand it the bank holiday entitlement is included regardless of whether they occur in the period in which an employee works.
This is how I work it in my business there are obviously some times I win over christmas and new year if they worked 3.5 months they'd use 3 days just on bank holidays. Other times I loose some on a autumn 3.5months.
Someone else with more knowledge may come along, but this is how I have interpretted the direct gov. website.

Thanks Lizcat, I've done a bit more digging around and I think you're right about bank holiday entitlement being included regardless of the time of year - luckily it looks like my interim contract says the same thing so I will be able to take annual leave when she does.

agree with lizcat and her calculations

everyone gets 28days per year which can include bank holidays.

so 8.2 days which would be normal call 8.5 days or even 9 days.

She works 3 days a week, so 4.69 days is correct (it must be a bit less than 3.5 months) not 8.17. Round it up to 5 days. You can insist that she takes all her holiday at the end of the contract if that makes it easier for you, although this would make her contract 2 weeks longer and entitle her to 6 days in total.

The statutory minimum holiday entitlement changed a while ago (in order to be fairer to part-time and/or short-term staff) so that the arrangement you describe at the end of the OP is no longer legal .

I make 3 days 4.9 days (aka 5 days)

(28 / 5days x days) = 16.8 days per year
16.8 / 12 months = 1.4 days per month
1.4 X 3.5 months = 4.9 days

Like I say, it must be a bit less than 3.5 months - the Business Link calculator works on actual dates so it has probably got it right (actually ISTR that it works it out 1 working day too short which understates the accrued holiday by 0.08 days for a FT employee).

(adds a decent holiday calculator to his todo list)