Holiday Entitlement

Holiday entitlement needs to be clearly understood by both the employer and the nanny and PAYE for Nannies is happy to advise clients in respect of their particular circumstances. It is advisable that the arrangements are agreed before any contract is drawn up.

In essence, all employees are entitled to 4.8 weeks paid holiday per year. (24 days for a nanny working 5 days a week.) If a nanny works for less than 5 days a week, the holiday week is shortened to reflect this. e.g. If a nanny works for 2 days per week, she will receive paid holiday of 4.8 weeks of 2 days, making a total of 9.6 days paid holiday per year. The extra 0.8 weeks, on top of the previous entitlement of 4 weeks, was added to holiday entitlement in October 2007 and is meant to compensate employees who may previously have not been entitled to any paid Bank Holidays. Bank Holidays (if paid) may therefore be counted against the increase of 0.8 weeks.

Although an employer is legally entitled to specify the dates of all holidays a nanny takes, the convention is to allow the nanny to choose two of the weeks and for the employer to choose two of the weeks. Any contract should also specify whether Bank Holidays are regarded as working days or if, as is usual, they are to be regarded as holidays on top of a normal entitlement of four weeks. This is a particular consideration for part time nannies who work for one or two days a week including a Monday, because a disproportionate number of Bank Holidays fall on a Monday.

It is also usual to specify that during the first months of employment, holiday can only be taken once it has been accrued. (e.g. for a nanny working 5 days a week, holiday is accrued at a rate of two days per month worked, including the extra Bank Holiday entitlement mentioned above.)