When you take on a nanny you’ll need to decide how much annual holiday he or she will get each year.
Your nanny is entitled to 28 paid days holiday per year. This is made up of four weeks standard leave and eight bank holidays, which are paid, giving an annual entitlement of 5.6 weeks. Of course, you can give more than this if you like.
If your nanny works part-time then you can calculate holiday pay by multiplying the number of days the nanny works by 5.6. Or use the handy calculator on Gov.uk website. This is useful if your nanny works a number of hours rather than days.
Accrual systems
Holiday leave is often worked out using the accrual system. This means that holiday entitlement will start to build up from the day your nanny starts working for you.
If your nanny wants to take more holiday than has been accrued then it’s up to you to decide if you’re happy with this.
If your nanny leaves then you will need to pay for any holiday that’s accrued and not been taken. And if your nanny has a negative holiday balance then you can take this out of the final pay.
Holiday notice period
Ideally, your nanny’s contract will state the period of notice that he or she must give to ask to take holiday. This will give you time to plan holiday cover. If there’s no agreement in place, your nanny must give notice of at least twice the length of the time they want to take off.
And you must respond to a holiday request within the same length of time as the holiday due to be taken. So if your nanny gives two days’ notice for one day’s leave, you must reply within one day.
You don’t have to agree to holiday, especially if it’s inconvenient but it’ll help your relationship with your nanny if you’re reasonable. And if you can’t allow your nanny to take the time off work talk with him or her to agree a mutually convenient date.
Restricting when leave can be taken
It’s best to set out in your nanny’s contract if there are any times when they can’t take holiday or any restrictions on the number of days taken at once, or times when you would like your nanny to take holiday – over Christmas or when you take your summer holiday, for example.
And don’t forget, your nanny must be able to take their annual leave. It’s against the law to deny the holiday altogether. They can take it altogether at the end of the year. But if there isn’t time, then you can allow them to carry some of it over into the following year. They can carry up to a maximum of eight days if they work full time. You will need to calculate the entitlement for part-time workers.
Holiday accrual systems explained
