The 2022 Supreme Court decision in Harpur Trust v Brazel is one of the most significant holiday pay cases of recent years. As a result of the implications of the decision, the government recently commenced a consultation exercise on the calculation of holiday entitlement for part-year and irregular-hours workers. The consultation period ends on 9 March 2023, and you can find the consultation can be here.
The case concerned the holiday entitlement and pay for a music teacher who was engaged on an ongoing contract of employment, but was only required to work during term time.
The Supreme Court held that Ms Brazel’s annual leave entitlement under the Working Time Regulations 1998 should not have been prorated so that it was proportionate to the amount of time she worked (calculated as being 12.07% of wages), but rather should be calculated by looking at the average pay received for weeks that were worked.
In effect, this means that part-year workers would be entitled to a higher sum for paid holiday entitlement than part-time workers, even where they work the same number of hours across the year.
