Your rights to extra pay or time back if you work over Christmas and New Year

ANYONE working over the Christmas period will be keen to know if they are entitled to extra time back or even more cash.

Whether you will need to work on Christmas Day or Boxing Day depends on the terms of your employment contract.

For example, someone working at a restaurant, hotel or hospital might have it baked into their contract that they may have to work these days.

The good news is, some businesses or bosses choose to offer workers extra pay such as double time on Christmas bank holidays.

However, it is not a legal requirement to do this, so you may be asked or required to work for the same amount as usual.

You may or may not get a bank holidays included in your annual leave allotment, too.

Here’s everything you need to know about whether you have to work this Christmas, whether you’ll get extra pay and if you’re entitled to time off in lieu.

Do I have to work on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day?

Usually, the rules around working on Christmas Day or Boxing Day depend on how your office treats bank holidays.

If you often work weekends or do shift work that includes Saturdays or Sundays, you could be asked to work as normal.

This might apply if you’re a fireman, doctor, hospitality worker or journalist, for instance.

That said, many workplaces shut between Christmas and New Year, so you might not have to work, depending on your employer.

If you work in a sector that’s open over the Christmas bank holidays and you want some time off, you will need to book annual leave.

Government guidance states that employers don’t have to offer bank or public holidays as paid leave.

However, an employer may choose to include them as part of a worker’s statutory annual leave.

Do I have to work on bank holidays over Christmas?

Whether you are asked to work on a bank holiday depends on the wording of your contract.

Everyone is legally entitled to a certain amount of holiday each year.

If you work five days a week, you’re legally entitled to 5.6 weeks of holiday, which works out at 28 days’ paid annual leave including bank holidays.

If you work part-time, you are still entitled to 5.6 weeks, but it is calculated pro-rata.

For example, someone who works three days a week would get at least 16.8 days.

Employers can offer more than the statutory requirement, but they don’t have to.

Sometimes your workplace will say you have a certain number of days of annual leave “exclusive of” bank holidays.

For instance, your contract could allow you to take 20 days of paid holiday each year as well as any bank holidays.

If your holiday is allocated like this, then you can’t be made to work on a bank holiday.

The second type of contract will describe your holiday entitlement as “inclusive of” bank holidays.

So, instead of being given 20 days off plus the public holidays, you could be given a certain amount of days to take as you choose.

In this case, you won’t automatically get any bank holidays over Christmas, New Year or Easter as holiday – you’ll have to book days off if you want them.

Depending on the type of work you do, you may not be able to take those days off at all.

You could also find that it’s first come, first serve, and only a proportion of your team can be on holiday.

However, you may be given a day in lieu to take off if you must work on the bank holiday.

This means you can take a day off another time instead of that date. Check with your employer if you’re not sure.

Can you get double or triple time if you work over Christmas?

Employers don’t legally have to offer you double or triple time if you work a bank holiday.

However, some businesses still choose to reward staff coming in over Christmas, so you could pocket some extra cash.

If you’re asked to work, check your employment contract online and search for “holiday” or “Christmas” to see what your company’s policy is.

If you can’t find your employment contract, speak to the HR team who should be able to find it for you.

Some employers offer as much as triple pay, so it’s well worth making sure you know what you’re entitled to.

If you work more than your usual contracted hours, that is typically considered overtime.

For instance, if you only work 35 hours a week but find that you’re working 40 over Christmas, you’ll have worked five hours overtime.

The bad news is employers don’t automatically have to pay you to work longer, particularly if you haven’t agreed on it in advance.

The flipside is that your boss can’t force you to work more than your contracted hours, but sometimes wording can be vague.

Check your contract carefully to see whether there are any circumstances in which overtime is paid, and get sign off from a senior manager before you take on the extra hours.

If you feel you’re being forced to work lots of unpaid overtime, contact the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) for advice.

Generally, you can’t be made to work more than 48 hours a week in total.