Paid Holiday Entitlement

The Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 external link provided workers in Northern Ireland with a statutory right to paid holiday for the first time. Workers covered by the Regulations were, until recently, entitled to four weeks’ paid annual leave.

The Working Time (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 external link has increased workers’ holiday entitlement from 4 weeks to 4.8 weeks (24 days if you work a five day week) from 1 October 2007 and to 5.6 weeks (28 days if you work a five day week) from 1 April 2009, pro-rata for those working part-time. Both increases may include bank and public holidays.

This ready reckoner can be used to calculate the new holiday entitlement for the more straightforward scenarios. An interactive tool is available on the Business Link external link website. A number of Frequently Asked Questions are also available.

Guidance for employers on how to implement the increase is available on the Business Link website external link, whilst guidance for workers is available at Directgov external link.