Holiday pay for irregular-hours staff, explained in 30 minutes

This is a written summary of our September webinar for owners and managers of shift-based teams. The recording runs 30 minutes; this page covers the parts people asked about most. It is general information, not legal advice — check anything that affects your payroll with an adviser.

Who counts as irregular-hours

A worker whose paid hours are wholly or mostly variable from one pay period to the next — the café student who works 6 hours one week and 22 the next, or the bank nurse called in when needed. Part-year workers are those who work only part of the year and are not paid for the rest, such as seasonal staff.

Accrual at 12.07%

For leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, these workers accrue holiday at 12.07% of the hours they actually work in each pay period. The number is 5.6 weeks of statutory leave divided by the 46.4 weeks a full-year worker is at work.

A barista who works 120 hours in a month accrues 14.5 hours of holiday.

Rolled-up holiday pay

Instead of paying when leave is taken, you may pay an extra 12.07% on every payslip, shown as a separate line. It is simpler to run, and it means seasonal staff leave with nothing owed. The trade-off is that people still need to take time off, and you still need to record it.

What the audience asked

“Do we still need to track holiday if we roll it up?” Yes. You need to be able to show leave was taken, and the Working Time rules on rest still apply.

“What about overtime and Sunday premiums?” Regular overtime and premiums should be reflected in holiday pay for the first four weeks of leave. Midshift’s timesheets carry the rate for every hour, which is what makes the calculation possible.

“How does this work in Midshift?” Set the policy per contract type. The timesheet adds accrued hours (or a rolled-up line) automatically, and the payroll export includes it so your bookkeeper is not doing it by hand.